


Matters of the Heart

by Vengfulfate



Category: RWBY
Genre: F/F, Family Drama, No Cinder/Salem, altered Ruby outfit, altered Ruby weapon, explained OOC Ruby, lots of emotional stress, more serious Ruby
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-05
Updated: 2019-06-30
Packaged: 2020-04-08 10:28:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 26
Words: 73,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19105276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vengfulfate/pseuds/Vengfulfate
Summary: When Ruby is injured as a child, Taiyang becomes incredibly overprotective. His attempts to shield her from the world drives Ruby to run away. Five years pass, and a highly trained and more seasoned Ruby joins Beacon. Once there, her past collides with her present in an ugly way, as she is forced to interact with her sister, and the family she has long resented.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The last story I intend to move her from Fanficiton.net. While I do have two more completed stories, those are in series with an ongoing story I'm currently having trouble writing, and do not want leave anymore people than I already have hanging for the conclusion. Someday, when I do finally finish that project, they'll be moved here as well. For now, we have this story that was adopted from an idea provided by another ff.net user by the username TheShadow977, and currently my most followed, favorited and reviewed story on that website.

Ten Years Ago

In the forest of Patch, a small shadow worked its way through the woods. A young blonde in twin-tails carried her little sister down the path in a red toy cart. Yang Xiao Long was a girl on a quest. She packed everything she would need on an adventure, sandwiches, snacks, and a few blankets. And then she realized she shouldn't leave little Ruby at home and took her with.  _It can't be too much longer now…_

Yang found a picture in her dad's room, a picture of a black-haired woman she didn't recognize. The woman was holding an infant, and writing on the back of the polaroid said it was  _her_. Summer wasn't Yang's mom, this woman was. And some clue about her was nearby, on the very island they lived. Her father refused to talk about it, so she had to find out on her own.

"Any minute now, Rubes." Yang assured her sleeping sister. "We'll be there soon."

But they weren't. Yang started to think that  _maybe_  she didn't think this through. She pushed on through her fatigue, breathing heavily as the woods got thicker. She would get there. She  _had_  to get there. "Maybe… a little rest…" The little blonde told herself, stopping for a moment. She looked up at the treetops and saw… it. The cabin from the picture.

A large smile broke across her face. She was here. She  _found_  it! She took off through the rest of the trees and came to a stop at the doors. Her smile faltered. The cabin was worn out and falling apart. The doors were gone and the inside was too dark to be visible. Yang fell to her knees, too exhausted to do anything else. It had all be been for nothing.

_Grrowwl_

Lilac eyes shot open in fear. "That noise…" Red eyes glowed through the darkness of the old house. Yang could only stare at them in fear. She had never seen them herself before, but she knew what they were. Creatures of darkness. Creatures of chaos. The creatures of Grimm. She was dead. She wasn't even ten years old yet, but there was no way she could do  _this_. A tear fell as the Grimm pounced…

… and a flash of silver cut the monster down before the tear hit the ground. Yang stared in amazement as a flurry of crescent strikes cut the Grimm down one by end. In moments, they were all gone. All that was left was a sad little girl and a grizzled man with a scythe.

"How you doing, firecracker?" Qrow asked with a smile.

"Uncle Qrow…" Yang's tears resumed. "I'm so sorry!" She wailed, "I shouldn't have come on my own!"

"Shhh, it's okay, Yang." Qrow assured. "I don't think I need to teach you a lesson you haven't already learned, you hear?" The blondie slowly nodded. The scythe master looked around. "Where's Ruby?"

Cawing and screaming from behind Yang caught their attention. Qrow bolted into the next field to see Ruby behind the red cart cowering before a Nevermore that was nearly the size of her. The Grimm bird let out a flow of fatal feathers before Qrow's scythe split it in half. Yang rushed to her sister's side while Qrow scanned for more threats. Then Yang's cry of "Qrow!" broke his vigilance as he rushed to his niece's side.

"Oh no…" He stared at the single black feather sticking out of Ruby's chest, the small child breathing fast. It looked as though it should have pierced the girl's heart. It was a wonder she was still alive. Qrow carefully picked her up, not wanted to hurt her any more than she already was. "We have to get her to a hospital. Fast."

* * *

Present Day

Roman Torchwick stalked down the streets of Vale. He had an agenda tonight. Dust, and lots of it. Of course, finding a Dust shop open so late was no small task, but he managed one quickly enough. 'From Dust Till Dawn' was an ironic name just waiting to be heisted. His borrowed lackeys from Junior's club trailed behind him and people side-stepped on the street to avoid him. It was good to be the king.

Torchwick let himself in the door and walked right up to the counter, wasting no time. "Do you know how hard it is to find a Dust shop open this late?" One of Junior's men raised his weapon at the elderly shopkeeper.

"Please, take my lien and leave…" The old man pleaded.

"Don't worry, we're not here for your money." He turned to his borrowed boys. "Grab the Dust."

While most of the men went straight to work draining the shop of its precious commodity, a few went to look for witnesses. One man came across a short figure, either a small woman or a teenager. She was dressed in mostly leather, a dark red that while plainly red on sight, one could still lose her in shadows. A smarter man may see that the tight torso piece and Bolero style jacket allowed for both protection and maneuverability. Despite the loose black skirt, she wore tight leather bottoms tucked into knee-high boots that were laced as opposed to the current fashion of buckles.

The only bright thing on the girl was the fabric trim of her hooded cape. The cape itself was mostly the same red leather, and the trained eye may even notice that the leather was an addition. An afterthought layered over the original, bright red fabric piece. A smarter man may even note that the cape may be hiding a weapon from view, especially with the sight of the feathered fetching of arrows poking out her left side.

All in all however, this goon was not a smart man. He saw a young girl as easy prey.

At the moment, Ruby was deaf to the world around her. A combination of weapon magazine and her own headphones denying her the presence of Junior's goon behind her. The only thing that broke her from her reverie was her bracelet lighting up. The device was an alarm of sorts, and she was always aware of when it went off. She set the magazine down and reached for a pouch at her belt, but was interrupted when a hand on her shoulder turned her around.

She looked him up and down curiously and noted his pantomime of removing headphones. Taking this as a cue to remove her own, she did so while never breaking eye contact. "Yes?"

"I said hands in the air!" He told her, as though he was exhausted from repeating himself.

"Are you… robbing me?" The young girl asked.

"Yes!"

"Hm."

Roman was at the counter when he saw one of the men fly through the shop window, followed by a streak of red and the scent of worn leather. He looked outside to see a girl who was probably fifteen,  _maybe_ sixteen, standing over the now unconscious man. She stood and turned slowly, drawing her elegant blade that was either a slightly short katana or a slightly long ninjato. She held onto the sheath as well, unclasping from her belt. The blade she held forward in her left hand while she held the sheath near the top, the shaft pointing backward, in her right.

Roman stared on. He didn't like where this was going. He looked to the other men. "Well? Get her."

The men ran out the door and charged Ruby. This only made the girl smirk. The first that got to her swung overhead, a strike she blocked easily with a swing of her own sword. Utilizing the light materials within used to build the blade, her experience with it, and a tad bit of her semblance, Ruby struck the man three times in rapid succession off the one counter.

The first man backed up while two more came from each side of him. Both swinging at once, Ruby calmly blocked one blade with her sword and the other blade with her sheath. She disconnected her sheath first, bringing it around the legs on the man sword-side. Tripping him easily, a back swing at his shoulders slammed him face-first into the ground.

The second man attempted another swing at his opponent, but Ruby jumped backward over his blade and hand-sprung back into position. He turned to face her, only to receive her next combo before he had a chance to do anything. She brought her sheath left across his gut, then back right across his chest. With her sword she swung similarly, right and then back left, biting away at his aura. One last swing of the sheath up his chin sent him flying backwards into the nearly recovered man on the ground, taking them both out.

Another goon charged, swinging his blade horizontally. Ruby jumped, cartwheeling in the air over his blade. In the same moment she was upside-down above the goon's weapon, she swiped the blade from his hands with her sheath. With her sword she tripped his legs, then swung up to keep him airborne. With her sheath, she slammed the man into the ground, cracking the pavement a little and removing him from the battle.

One last man ran at her, and Ruby quickly slid her sheath over her sword. In the same motion, she used her now free right hand to reach around grab an arrow from the quiver that stuck out the left side of her back. This motion also served as her windup, and allowed her to throw the arrow straight out of its quiver. Not the most conventional or easy way to use an arrow, but she didn't need precision at the moment. The Burn Dust in the arrowhead exploded on the ground in front of the man, rocketing him back through the shop window.

"You were worth every penny, truly you were." Roman chided the unconscious form. He looked to Ruby. "It's been fun Red, but I'm afraid  _this_  is where we part ways." His cane opened on the bottom and fired a large blast at the young girl.

She jumped away from it quickly, using her semblance and a few flips to gain distance from the blast. Ruby raced back down the street looking for the robber, but saw no sign of him until she looked at a ladder halfway up a building.

She cocked her head to the shopkeeper. "You okay if I go after him?" He nodded, and her path was set.

He ran to the other end of the rooftop, and heard footsteps behind him. "Persistent…"

Ruby watched as an airship came to the burglar's aid. Curious, but not enough to deter her. This was hardly the first time she dealt with a skilled thief. Ruby stepped forward, confident. But that confidence was shattered in an instant by a stinging tightness in her chest.  _My alarm… that man… I forgot… my alarm…_  Ruby dropped her weapon and fell to her knees, hunched over and gripping her chest for dear life.

Roman didn't wonder why such a strong young girl suddenly fell. He instead thanked whatever gods necessary for his good fortune as he began his getaway. The arrival of a bona-fide huntress made him curse those same gods. Ruby watched in awe through fading vison as the huntress attacked the vessel.  _Stupid! Don't watch the huntress! Deal with this! You've done it before…_

Ruby strained to pull an injector and a thin vial out of a pouch on her belt. She loaded the vial into the injector before reaching for a section of her outfit. Just under her left breast was a flap she hastily opened. With only thin cloth under the leather, the injector broke through and gave the young girl what she desperately needed. Her chest loosened, the stinging went away, and she lay back to catch her breath.

She opened her eyes after catching her breath to see the huntress who saved her standing over her. Ruby first instinct was to offer thanks for the woman's help. But the expression the woman wore made Ruby gulp away the tension building in her throat instead.

"You're coming with me." The woman told her. "We need to talk."

Ruby gulped again.

* * *

Seven Years Ago

Ruby Xiao Long was walking home from school. Her father was there to pick her up of course, but she walked home before. She could do it again. She could prove to him that she could live her own life. Then, maybe, finally, she could live the life she always wanted. Because as it was, god forbid the girl even picked up the fire poker without her family fearing she would take it out back and play 'huntress'. And it made her angry.

Her father's car was in the drive already, as Ruby should have expected. He wouldn't be happy with her going home on her own. He never was. She had heard the same speech a hundred times before, about how  _she_  of all people needed to be more careful. Ruby never wanted to be ' _she_  of all people'. She just wanted to be people. She wanted her family to stop treating her as some fragile doll that was already dropped once.

The bracelet on her wrist started to flash and buzz and beep. The thing was annoying, but at least she knew when it went off. She hit a few buttons on it before pulling the long, thin metal cylinder out of her pocket, along with a few tubes of liquid. She remembered the day the doctors told her family she could never be without this device. After the Nevermore pierced her heart, she would have died if not for a risky Dust treatment. It worked like an aura-steroid on her heart, keeping it stitched together. That, of course, meant she  _did_  have an unlocked aura,  _not that anyone will let me train it._

But the treatment didn't work on its own. Not even a day later, the Dust surrounding her heart began to fail. The doctors took out this same cylinder, and told Ruby to try and stay calm. The little redhead was frightened of the device. It was strange and new and she didn't know what it was. They put a vial of some liquid in it and stuck the thing in her chest. Ruby felt the needle, then the flow of liquid freezing her heart. Then it was warm, and all the pain went away. The doctors sighed in relief when Ruby resumed breathing.

The drug was some kind of Dust enhancer, renewing the energy of the Dust in her body. And by now it was clear that she would need the medicine for life. But that wasn't the worst part… the worst part was when the doctors told her father that stress would only weaken her heart faster. In that moment, her life-long dream of being a huntress, of being a hero like her mother, was effectively shattered. Seemingly overnight, her father stopped telling her stories about her mother or his hunts, and Yang stopped reading her fairy tales before bed. Worst of all, Uncle Qrow, who had promised to tutor Ruby when she was old enough, stopped coming around as much.

Ruby stared at the injector in her hands. She was afraid of it for a long time, but now… now she simply hated it. Every time she held it, it was a reminder of why she couldn't live her dreams. But maybe, if she got stronger, she could one day. But her family didn't want to let her try. They'd rather she lived a shielded life, safe in their little bubble. Ruby didn't inject the medicine until she felt her heart begin to seize.  _I will get stronger. Whether they like it or not._


	2. Chapter 2

Present day

Ruby sat alone in the dark room, a single lamp lighting the table. She waited patiently, never so much as tapping her foot. She simply listened, a heated discussion in the next room  _just_  too quiet to make any words out. A smile crossed her face for a second when she finally heard heels clicking across the ground. The huntress who saved Ruby stepped into the room quickly, expecting some reaction from her sudden entrance. Ruby, fully anticipating her, sat still.

"I hope that you realize that your actions tonight will not be taken lightly, young lady." The huntress told her.

"What, stopping a robbery?" Ruby asked incredulously.

The woman glared. "You put yourself and others in great danger." She continued.

"And your ice shower didn't?" The skilled girl pointed out. "Did you see how many icicles missed the airship entirely? People might have been under it."

The older woman's nostrils flared. Not only was this girl being obstinate… she had to admit the young girl was also correct. "And what would you have done?"

"Gotten on the airship." Ruby told her. "A few icicles from my ice arrows would have weighed it down. I could have boarded and fought that man within. Taken control of the airship, landed it nearby."

Glynda hummed quietly to herself. That actually wasn't a bad strategy, if nothing went wrong. But a lot could. "If it were up to me you would be sent home with a slap on the wrist. And, a pat on the back." The huntress confessed reluctantly. "But there is someone who wishes to speak to you."

A man walked in, dressed in greens with grey hair and kind eyes. Ruby's eyes widened. She recognized the man immediately as Professor Ozpin, headmaster of Beacon Academy. Which meant the blonde woman was none other than the deputy headmistress, Glynda Goodwitch. She looked hotter that Ruby pictured. … _probably shouldn't let my kitten know I had that thought…_

Ozpin seemed to stop short at finally seeing the girl in person. He just watched the security recording of her fight, but the recordings were low quality. He wasn't expecting her eyes. "You have… silver eyes…"

Ruby stared at him for a few moments. He seemed a little frozen, and she was tempted to raise her hood just to break the spell.

He managed to shake himself out of his thoughts. "My apologies. I've only met one person with eyes such as yours." He sat down and offered the young girl a tray of cookies.

She picked up one and nibbled on the end a bit before taking a bite. "Why do  _you_  want to talk to  _me_?" She asked before taking another bite.

"I wanted to know where you learned to fight like  _this_." Ozpin showed her the security recordings. "For the life of me, I couldn't find any records of a girl matching your description, technique, and skill in any of the combat school records."

"Combat schools wouldn't take me." The half-truth slid off her tongue easily.

"Because of this?" Ozpin pulled up another video. The edge of another security cam form another building caught Ruby's rooftop stumble.

The redhead flinched at being reminded of such a dumb mistake. "Yes."

"May I ask exactly what it is?" Ozpin treaded carefully.

"Bad heart." Ruby answered vaguely. "I have medicine for it, but the robbery interrupted my dose. Second time I've missed a dose this year..." The redhead scolded herself with the last bit, Ozpin noticed.

"You're saying if you had taken your dose at the right time, you could have kept fighting with no issue?" Ozpin asked.

"And maybe even taken that guy in. I can't believe I let myself miss it…" Ruby continued to lament.

Ozpin considered things carefully. They  _were_  short on students this year, and they rarely got admissions that were so naturally skilled. It was clear to the experienced huntsman that she worked hard to overcome her handicap. "How old are you, young lady?"

Ruby squinted, trying to dissect his question. "Fifteen…" She answered slowly.

It was a bittersweet revelation. She was more skilled than most of his applicants combined, and two years younger? He desperately wanted such talent at Beacon, but could he justify taking in someone two years early, especially with a heart condition? He couldn't make this choice blindly. "What do you think of huntsmen and huntresses?"

Ruby still couldn't figure out this line of questioning.  _What is he working toward?_  "I think… that huntsmen and huntresses are the most noble warriors in our world." She answered honestly. "They're practically hand-picked as the best of the best, trained and tested rigorously... Not all of them stay good, of course, but those that do… well… they're the closest thing our world has to heroes. They  _are_ heroes, legends even." Her face fell as she was reminded of a darker time. "I always wanted to be one when I was little. I do what I can now. It's all I can…"

Ozpin leaned back in his chair. The pieces were falling into place. He was certain he knew who this young woman was. And if he was right, she was about to prove a particular person _very_ wrong. He smiled. Ozpin liked taking the occasional chance, and this was one he was rather excited to see play out. He sat back forward, his smile growing. "Do you know who I am?"

Ruby looked back up, broken from her memories. "You're the headmaster at Beacon, Professor Ozpin."

"Since you know my name…?" Ozpin gestured to the young girl.

"Oh! Ruby." She told him.

"It's nice to meet you, Ruby." He nodded. "How would you like to attend my school?"

Glynda and Ruby both wore faces of total shock. Glynda recovered enough to use her mouth first. "What on earth are you thinking!?"

Ozpin ignored her, looking Ruby in the eyes. "Well?"

Ruby stared on in disbelief. "I would love to. More than anything. It's… been my life's dream."

Ozpin leaned back, his smirk growing still. "Then welcome to Beacon, young lady."

"Have you lost what  _little_  sanity you have left!?" Goodwitch argued.

"Glynda, please." Ozpin finally acknowledged her. "It's my decision, and I will deal with the consequences." The man smiled warmly. "Please, make her feel welcome."

"I won't let you down, professor." Ruby assured him. "There won't be any 'consequences'."

"Don't mistake the depths my charity. The path ahead of you is far from easy." Ozpin warned. "And you may have to work harder than your peers to achieve the same standing. Unfortunately, unlike most teenagers who feel the same, you truly do have something to prove."

Ruby rested a hand over her heart, nodding. "It wouldn't be the first time…"

* * *

Five years ago

Ruby was walking home from school again. She noticed her father didn't bother showing up to drive her home. There was a tension in the household. For the past few years, it was apparent Ruby was growing distant from the rest of her family. Then, the other day, Ruby showed her father a brochure for a fighting class. Yang was about to enter Signal, and Ruby wanted to follow suit in a few years. But without  _any_  fight training, her chances were low. So, she found a class that would teach her those basics, but it needed a parent's signature to train a ten-year-old.

It re-ignited the age-old argument about how Ruby needed to be careful, how she was too fragile for the real world. Of course, they didn't word it that way, but it was all Ruby heard. Ruby found some of her dad's paperwork, copied his signature, and sent in the form anyway. It wouldn't be the first time in recent history Ruby 'spent the night at a friends' rather than return home. If her so-called family still refused to support her dream, she would just have to pursue it on her own.

"You're making a mistake, Tai."

Inside the house, away from Ruby's ears, Ruby's father was engaged in a related dispute with Qrow. "And what mistake is that? Keeping my daughter alive?"

"She's Summer's kid." Qrow argued. "In more ways than one."

"She's my daughter, too. And she's  _not_  yours." Taiyang deadpanned.

"And if you want to keep her, you might want to give in a little!" Qrow shouted. "Ruby's stubborn like her mom was. You need to control the situation, before the situation, and, most importantly,  _Ruby,_  are lost to you."

"She's ten years old, Qrow. What is she going to do?" Taiyang suppressed a laugh.

"She's grown up fast. Not because she had to, but because she  _felt_  like she had to." Qrow warned. "There's a lot a ten-year-old with her mindset is willing to do, trust me."

"What are you saying, we should kill her ourselves?" Taiyang accused.

"Let me train her." Qrow begged for the thousandth time.

"Her body can't handle the stress of training." Taiyang repeated for also the thousandth time.

"That's not what the doctor said, and you know it." Qrow narrowed his eyes. "With enough medication, it  _is_  possible. And Ruby knows that."

"I think you should leave." Taiyang berated. "Ruby will be home soon, and I don't need you filling her head with your stories."

"Damn it, Tai-"

"Leave." Taiyang put his foot down. "And if you say  _anything_  to her, you can forget coming back to visit either of them."

Qrow remained silent as they heard the front door open. That could only be one person. "If you try to keep her in your little bubble, she'll be the one holding the needle when it pops. And  _when_  she's gone, don't say I didn't warn you."

Qrow walked out of the room and ran into Ruby in the hall. "Uncle Qrow?" She asked. "What are you doing here?"

The door opened behind Qrow, Taiyang standing there.  _Sigh_. "Just trading intel. I was on my way back out. We'll hang out soon, kiddo. Promise." He ruffled her hair before leaving.

Ruby frowned. Part of her hoped he was here to convince her father to take finally take her side. She was used to her 'family' betraying her by now. She dropped her bags off and made her way into the kitchen to grab some food.

"Hey, Rubes." Yang greeted from the couch.

Ruby ignored her.

"I'm making dinner tonight. Will you be joining us?" Yang asked.

Ruby continued to ignore her, and started making a sandwich.

"Please, Ruby… It's not the same without you." Yang frowned. She missed her sister.

Ruby stopped her sandwich, lowering her eyes. She missed Yang too. There was a reason she didn't speak to her family, though.  _But, maybe… one dinner…_

The redhead's train of thought stopped. She spotted a piece of paper in the trash. A piece of paper with her name on it. She took it and read the note.

_Dear Miss Ruby Xiao Long,_

_We regret to inform you that your application to Basic Combat Tuesdays has been blocked. It is beyond our authority, and we cannot let you join. You have our deepest apologies, and I assure you, we looked forward to your presence. Best of luck in the future._

Ruby gripped the sheet.  _He found out… and he blocked me!?_  The paper began to tear, and she looked up to see her sister, guilt plain as day on her face.

"Did you know about this?" Ruby demanded.

"Umm… I…" Yang rubbed the back of her neck. She wasn't a very good liar.

Ruby stormed to her father's room and burst through the door. Taiyang jumped and spun around. "Did no one teach you to-" he spotted the paper in his daughter's hand. "…knock…"

"How could you…" Ruby was shaking with anger.

"Ruby…"

"Did you even look up the class!?" The young girl shouted. "Or did you see 'combat' and deicide 'oh, I can't let this happen'! Well!?"

"Ruby, you know why I can't allow this." Taiyang kept his voice steady.

"It's the basics! It's not even that bad!" Ruby informed him. "Some stances, some attack advice, some block advice! Only the final class had any real excitement, to teach me how to take a punch!"

"And that punch could end you!" Her father shouted, losing his cool.

"One punch is not going to kill me!" Ruby shouted.

"Ruby, you think you know what you want out of life." Taiyang told her in a consoling voice. "But your still so young-"

"Yang's only two years older than I am, and you're already talking about sending her to Signal. You think I don't hear it?" Ruby told him. "And in two years, where will I be? Still stuck here, too young to decide for myself? When do I finally get a say in my life, or am I supposed to live with you forever so you can  _cover my life in bubble wrap!?_ "

"Rubes…" Yang spoke up from behind the redhead. "We're your family. We just want to protect you."

"Family is supposed to support each other." Ruby deadpanned. "That's what  _mom_  taught me. My only dream is to be a huntress, to help people. If you're not doing what you can to help me, then what are you?"

"Ruby…" Taiyang reached out for his daughter, but Ruby ran to her room and slammed the door, locking it behind her.

Yang looked up at her dad. "Maybe… she has a point…"

"She'll thank us later." Taiyang assured his eldest. "We're doing what's best for her. Whether she likes it or not."

Yang cast her eyes to the ground.

"You think making her angry makes me feel good?" Taiyang asked Yang. "She's a child. It's more dangerous for her. We're doing what we have to."

"Right…" Yang nodded.

Ruby's sandwich lay abandoned, and she never emerged for dinner. The redhead came to a decision. They weren't her family. They couldn't be. Taiyang was her father about as much as a King who kept his Princess prisoner 'for her own good'. More often than not, it turned out the best thing for the princess was a little freedom. And Yang wasn't much better, never taking her sister's side.

That night after they were both asleep, Ruby snuck out her window. The red cloak her mother gave her was over her shoulders, and her backpack was filled with food, clothing, and a couple hundred lien from the 'family safe' under her father's bed. Thankfully Taiyang was a heavy sleeper. The redhead also made sure to pack her entire supply of medicine and her prescription note to get more.

She looked over her shoulder, back to the wood house that had served as her home for ten years.  _This is the last time I'll ever see it… but I won't miss it. It hasn't been 'home' for years. It's been my prison._

With that final thought, Ruby turned her back on her family. A family that in her opinion, turned their back on her first. She would find a way to train, to learn to fight. All she needed was one opportunity, to prove to the world her injury won't deter her dream. And these were the first steps of that journey.


	3. Chapter 3

Five years ago

It had been a few weeks since Ruby left. She didn't exactly have a plan for this, she just knew she couldn't live her dream while her father locked her away. She couldn't join the combat class, and even if she could join Signal on her own in a few years, it would be where Yang went to school, not to mention where Taiyang worked. She managed to sneak aboard ship to Vale, but now didn't know what to do next.

She looked around for some kind of class willing to teach her, but was always turned away. After running out of money, she spent the night before on the street. She thought she had thought things through… Her stomach growled, and she knew she needed to find some way to eat. She walked the streets until she chanced upon an open market.  _Maybe…_

Ruby raised her hood and kept her head low and she slipped through the crowd, trying not to be seen. She approached a stand for a bakery, a loaf of bread lying out in the open. She tried to slip it away quickly.

"Hey! I saw that!" The shopkeeper told her. Ruby looked up in fear. "Pay for it or put it back, before I call the police over."

Ruby panicked. She needed to eat, but she had no more money. She took off, causing the shopkeeper to shout "Thief!"

Ruby kept running. She realized the police wouldn't arrest her, but they would call her family. Taiyang would come and pick her up, and this would all be for nothing. So she had to outrun the cops. She turned this way and that, before turning a corner and slamming into someone.

Ruby looked up at her living barrier. A tall woman dressed simply. Leather slacks tucked into calf-high boots and a short-sleeved jacket over a sleeveless button-down that were both white. Kind eyes shined and a brown braid fell halfway down her back. What drew Ruby's eye was the armor covering her shoulders and forearms. That, the katana at her waist, and the bow across her back gave Ruby a single conclusion, one that didn't being her much comfort. "A huntress?"

"And where are you going, little one?" The woman asked her.

Ruby heard the police behind her and jumped behind the huntress. "Don't let them get me!" It was all she could do.

The huntress noted the police approaching and gauged the situation carefully. The girl was obviously a thief, but she was also disheveled in more ways than one. As the police approached, she turned and knelt down, putting her hand on Ruby's shoulder. Once the cops were within earshot, she spoke. "I told you, sweetheart. If you see something you want, wait for me. You shouldn't take things that haven't been paid for."

Ruby stared in disbelief. The huntress winked at her.

The cop who heard him looked between the two skeptically. He looked own to Ruby. "Is this woman your mother?"

"Yes." Ruby answered quickly.

The cop sighed. Even if it wasn't true, there was nothing he could do if the girl didn't implicate anything.

"I'll pay for the bread. Where was the stand?" She asked with a warm smile. It was the kind of smile that made people, Ruby included, trust her. She paid for the bread and looked down at Ruby, the warm smile never lost. "Alright, sweetheart! Time to go."

They walked in silence for some time, Ruby not daring to speak or break away from her. The smile was gone, and her face was serious. Eventually they stopped and the huntress turned to face her. "I half expected you to run at this point."

"I… umm…" Ruby clutched the bread close.

"It's yours, don't worry." The woman assured her. The huntress scanned the small girl. Her clothes were dirty, but only by a few days. She was scared, and was obviously inexperienced at thievery. "You're a runaway."

The girl froze.

"Why?" The huntress asked, sitting crossed legged in front of her.

Ruby struggled to find her words. "My… family… they wanted to keep me locked up. I wanted to learn to fight, but they kept saying it was too dangerous."

"It is a dangerous world." The huntress pointed out.

"But my dad was a huntsman, and my sister is going to Signal." Ruby explained.

"'So why can't you.'" The huntress nodded.

Just then Ruby's bracelet alarm sounded. "What is that?" The huntress asked.

"Nothing!" Ruby told her, silencing it quickly. The girl's eyes darted back and forth.

The woman sighed. "Run if you want, but I'm not letting you out of my sight."

Ruby's eyes cast downward. She started to rub her chest before finally taking out her injector and taking her medication, her expression one of shame.

The huntress didn't miss the implication. "That's why your father doesn't want you fighting. You're injured. Is it permanent?"

Ruby nodded slowly. "But… it's not as bad as he tries to tell me… I can still do what I want, even with this…"

"Is that so?" The woman asked.

"I looked the medicine up." Ruby told her. "My dad didn't want me to. I'd have to take more, but it's possible."

The huntress scanned the girl carefully. She asked for the name of the medicine before pulling out her scroll and looking it up herself. Once confirming Ruby's story, she had one last question. "Why do you want to fight?"

"I want to be a huntress." Ruby told her.

"You want to fight monsters and be a hero?" The woman asked, her final test.

"I want to protect the people." Ruby corrected her, passing the test with flying colors.

The huntress thought carefully. The girl had the heart for the life, and could easily be molded into a great huntress. Even her condition wouldn't hold her back, according to the information in the internet. But she was a runaway, with a family that loved her. The girl ran away for a reason, though, and sending her back would likely make her run away in the future. Eventually she would try and train on her own, and that  _would_ get her killed.

_I'm going to regret this…_  "Very well." The huntress stood. "My name is Christine Miizu. I am not your mother, and I am not your friend. From this day forward, I am your master. Do you understand?"

Ruby couldn't believe her ears. She gulped and quickly nodded.

"That's not an answer. Speak, girl." Miizu barked, already slipping into her role.

Ruby squeaked, standing at attention. "Y-Yes Master!"

_She catches on quick. Good._  "What is your name, student?"

"Ruby Xia-" The girl stalled. "Rose."

"Ruby Xia-Rose?" Miizu raised her eyebrow.

"Just Rose. Ruby Rose." The young girl clarified.

"I see." The Master nodded. "How much medicine do you have left, Ruby?"

"Not much… but I have this." Ruby pulled the prescription note out of her pocket.

Master Miizu took the paper and looked it over. She didn't miss that it was made out to Ruby Xiao Long. "I can work with this." She sighed in relief. "Follow." She told Ruby, turning to make for a pharmacy.

"Thank you." Ruby told her. "For taking me in. Thank you so much."

Miizu smirked. "You won't be thanking me for long." She promised.

* * *

Present day

Ruby walked through the door to the little hotel room she and her girlfriend managed to snag. They had come into Vale specifically so Ruby's partner could take the Beacon entrance exam, since she was seventeen. Neither of them could have predicted the fifteen-year-old with a heart condition would also earn a place at the prestigious academy. Now Ruby had one hell of a surprise for her significant other.

The redhead placed her weapons on the counter and looked to the couch where her girlfriend was, predictably, passed out with a book in her hand. Ruby sat next to her, petting her raven hair before moving her hands up and doing the same to the cat ears there. The sleeping figure let out an appreciative purr. Ruby took the book carefully, keeping her place, before gently shaking her awake. "Blake, get up. You need to get to an actual bed."

Blake Belladonna groaned as she sat up. She saw silver eyes and smiled. "Hey, Ruby…" Then she saw the time. "Are you just getting in…?"

"Yeah." Ruby nodded.

"It's been hours…" Blake yawned. "Where have you been?"

"You're not gunna believe this," Ruby teased, "but I actually had a run in with Professor Ozpin."

"The Beacon headmaster?" Blake was a little more awake. "What happened?"

"I was at the dust shop when it was… robbed." Ruby told her.

Blake sighed. "You did not fight off robbers without me…"

"I kinda didn't have a choice…" Ruby pointed out.

"Did your heart act up?" Blake asked, wide awake by now and concerned for Ruby.

"A little…" Ruby confessed. "The robbery interrupted my dose."

"How bad was it?" Blake asked.

"Kinda… bad…" Ruby admitted. "But nothing I couldn't handle."

Blake groaned. "So where does Professor Ozpin come in?"

"Well, when I was laid out on a rooftop by my own heart-"

"Did you say rooftop?"

"-Glynda Goodwitch showed up and fought off the robbers." Ruby continued unimpeded. "And she took me to Ozpin to talk."

"What did you two talk about?" The faunus girl put a bookmark in her book before closing it.

"About… me entering Beacon." Ruby told her with a smile.

Blake dropped the book. "Are you serious?"

"I'm going to Beacon!" Ruby repeated excitedly.

"That's great!" Blake smiled. "Ruby, you made it! Your dream!"

"I know!" Ruby hugged Blake close. "And best yet, I'm going with _you_!"

Blake looked at the clock. "Unfortunately, it's too late to celebrate. We  _both_  need to rest for Beacon tomorrow. We'll celebrate the first weekend after classes?"

"Sounds good." Ruby nodded. "Can't wait. Now let's get to bed."

Ruby picked up her weapon on the way to the bed. Survival habits taught her to never sleep with it too far away. She looked at the katana in her hand. The weapon was as elegant as it was deadly, every bit worked to perfection. The grip expertly made and maintained, a small device on the pommel adding a little extra weight. A similar device was near the top of the sheath, which was all metal as opposed to the traditional wood. This was how Ruby could use the sheath effectively in combat.

Drawing the blade, she decided to give the steel a visual once-over. It was slightly shorter than the sheath would have you believe, shorter than most blades of similar make. It gleamed with a perfect mirror sheen, and Ruby could use the blade to see behind her. Along the back of the lower half of the blade, gold gilding ran up in elegant arches and circles. Small red spots made the gilding look like golden rose vines.

Ruby sheathed the blade and smiled at the weapon. "I made it, Master Miizu…"

Blake's hand showed up, gripping the weapon lightly. Ruby looked up at her girlfriend, smile never breaking. "Let's get to bed." Blake told her, taking the sword into the next room.

"Yes, Master." She teased after the faunus before following her.

* * *

Five years ago

Miizu and Ruby were spending the night in a cave, the master watching the student from a higher crag. The redhead was surprised by how intensive the training was so far. She could see how her Master would think she wouldn't be thankful soon enough… but she was wrong. Ruby would never be ungrateful to the only person to ever give her a chance.

It was the fifteenth day straight they spent in the Sanus wilds rather than the comforts of Vale, and Miizu was surprised. She never heard Ruby complain once. The young girl had a fire Miizu didn't see in her as a young thief. She took to all of her lessons with gusto. When students her age normally shied away from things like book studies, Ruby studied like few others. Anything that would help her reach her distant dream.  _But I suppose it makes some sense…_  Miizu considered.  _She's a girl with something to prove._

The huntress caught her young ward eyeing her sword. She had given Ruby a similar one of the same style for training, but it was simple. Basic blade, wooden sheath… nothing like Miizu's blade.

"Is it true huntsmen and huntresses make their own weapons?" Ruby asked.

Miizu smiled. After her time with the girl, she could have predicted that question. "Usually, but some weapons are passed down through families."

"So you didn't make yours?" Ruby asked.

"Well…" Miizu hopped down from her perch and unclipped her sword form her belt. "Gilded Thorn is unique even among Passing Weapons, as they are sometimes called. It has changed many hands through the generations, and each hand has added something to it. Their own little splash of personality that stays with the blade forever. Some practical, some purely aesthetic."

"Aesti-what now?" Ruby asked.

"Look it up." Miizu told her student.

Ruby nodded. "So, your sword has a little piece of everyone who's used it?"

"That's right. For example, my grandfather shortened to blade to allow faster drawing and swinging." Miizu started, drawing the blade. "My mother added the gold trim and re-christened the blade with its current name, Gilded Thorn. She wanted a weapon that was as beautiful and elegant as it was deadly. Just like her."

Ruby examined the gold lines with awe. Completely flush with the steel, you would never guess it was an addition. "And what did you do?"

Miizu smiled, putting the sword away. "I swapped out the traditional wooden sheath with a combat-ready metal one. Now, I can attack with both blade and housing."

"The combat style you've been teaching me." Ruby realized. "You made it?"

"That's right." Miizu nodded, returning to her higher seating. "Enough about my blade. Now return to your studies."

"Yes, Master." Ruby sat back down, her curiosity sated.

Ruby's bracelet went off, and Miizu watched as her student silenced the alarm and went right back to work. The event made her frown. The alarm was linked directly to her vitals, and was telling her the best times to take her medicine so she  _never_  experienced the palpitations of her injury. But Ruby seemed insistent of trying to beat her medicine.  _If only she took it on time, she would never have to worry about… that._  Miizu frowned, seeing ruby's grip tighten on her pen. She started breathing heavier and eventually gave in, pulling out her injector.

Miizu came to a decision. She knew what lesson to teach Ruby next, a lesson the girl would  _have_  to learn if she was going to continue training her. And it wasn't going to be easy.


	4. Chapter 4

Five Years Ago

The next morning, Ruby woke up to see Miizu packing her bag. "Are we going somewhere, Master?" Ruby asked.

"I am." Miizu answered. "You are to stay here."

"How long will you be gone?" Ruby asked.

"As long as I need to be." Miizu looked over her student.

Ruby recognized that look, and got ready as soon as possible. She stood before her Master, sword hanging off her belt, bow across her back. She was ready.

"Your next lesson is unlike any you've had thus far." Master Miizu warned her student. "I can't tell you when I'll be back. It could be weeks, it could be months. But you have everything you need to survive." Ruby looked around the sparse cave. "Not  _in_  here of course. In  _here_." Miizu pointed at her student's head. "It takes more than knowing how to fight and shake hands to be a Huntress. And you have more to overcome than most to reach that goal."

"Am I just supposed to survive?" Ruby asked.

"Well, study when you can but the priority is staying alive." Miizu answered. "Just don't use the books for firewood." She joked.

"Yes, Master." Ruby nodded.

"And one last thing, Ruby." Miizu turned serious again. "There's something I want you to meditate on while I'm gone."

"Which is?"

"You need to accept yourself."

Ruby frowned. This statement was likely the crux of what this lesson was really about, but what did she mean?  _I suppose I'll have to figure it out before she returns._

"I'll be on my way now." Miizu hauled her bag over her shoulder. "Remember what I've taught you so far. I may be watching, or I may not. Either way, I will not help you."

"Of course, Master." Ruby nodded.

Miizu left the cave and vanished into the bushes. For the first time in nearly a month, Ruby felt truly alone.

"Okay, survive." Ruby thought aloud. "One, shelter. She's letting me have the cave, so that's taken care of. I'm sure finding my own  _would_  impress her, but priority one is stay alive. Might as well use it." She walked over to the coldest corner of the cave, where they have been keeping their food. "I have enough food for tonight. I could stay safe in here and study… but if I hunt now, I won't have to on an empty stomach later."

Her path set, Ruby picked up her bow and quiver and made for the exit. "It's okay. You've done this a dozen times."

_But never alone_

Ruby shook her head until the voice of doubt was silent. She spotted a book that she was using to study edible and poisonous plants, and decided to take it with. She didn't yet know all that by heart. With one last deep breath, she stepped into the world at large.

* * *

Present Day

The next morning, Ruby and Blake were in a rush to pack and get ready for the airship. While Ruby's bracelet was the perfect alarm for her heart, their actual alarm clock for waking up was a little less reliable. Ruby was in the front room counting her arrows with a frown when she saw Blake finally emerge from the bedroom. A black bow concealed her ears from view. Blake moved for the door, but was blocked by her girlfriend.

"What's that?" Ruby asked, pointing at the bow.

Blake flushed with embarrassment. "I don't want the people at Beacon to judge me for  _what_  I am. I want them to learn  _who_  I am."

Ruby took another look at the bow. "Nope."

"What?" Blake asked.

"I said 'nope'. Not lettin' ya leave with the bow on." Ruby shook her head.

"Ruby this isn't funny, we need to move." Blake pleaded, reaching for the doorknob.

Ruby stepped to the side, blocking her hand. "Nope."

"Ruby!" Blake growled. "Why not?"

"Because of your own goals." Ruby told her. "I get you want to stay under the radar. But who's going to listen to a faunus, even a huntress, who spent her school years hiding under a bow?"

"But that's not what I'm doing." Blake argued.

"And the media has been real honest, historically." Ruby rolled her eyes. " _Someone's_  gonna point it out and use it against you. Say you're a coward, that you're ashamed to be a faunus."

"But I'm not!" Blake shouted.

"And I know that." Ruby continued calmly. "But if you get to the point of public speaking, those people won't know you like I do. They'll only have your word versus your enemy's, and your enemies will do everything they can to smear your name. Then no one will listen to you."

Blake's eyes, as well as her bow, drooped.

"Don't give them that ammo. Take off the bow, show them how proud you are." Ruby insisted.

"But what about the White Fang?" Blake asked. "What if they come looking for me?"

"Then a bow is a  _really_  flimsy disguise against people who know what's under it." Ruby pointed out. "And I'm pretty sure by now most of the Fang know your complete description, if those thugs we ran into a few weeks ago are anything to go by."

"But…" Blake slumped. "What if I am just afraid…"

Ruby smirked. "Then in the words of Master Miizu…" Ruby smacked the back of her girlfriend's head. "Get over it."

"It's not that easy…"

"Nope." Ruby never lost her smile. "But it'll be harder if you never even try."

Blake reluctantly removed the bow and handed it to Ruby. "I reserve to right to whine about every single bully and racist, and  _you_  can't complain about it."

"Agreed." Ruby smiled. "Let's get to the airship before we're late!"

* * *

Five Years Ago

Ruby had spent nearly three weeks now on her own. It was getting easier with each passing day. She was sure she could go months without seeing Master Miizu at this point. She was making her way through the forest, a few rabbits already hanging off her bag. Once she cut them and cleaned them, it would be a decent meal. She was getting to be a better shot with her bow as well… while not each hit was in one eye and out the other like Master Miizu, she took down three rabbits with one arrow each, no misses.

The redhead walked on, canceling her bracelet alarm with a huff. She still hated the sight of the injector, and refused to use it unless she had to. She could power through one murmur. Before long, she spotted a plant she would recognize anywhere. "Wild Strawberries…" She rushed over to the bush in amazement, dropping her sword in the process. Strawberries and cookies were her favorite foods, in that order. To find a batch of wild strawberries was incredible.  _I'll have to wash them and make sure they're not diseased before I eat them… but I gotta take a few with me._  Ruby filled a pouch with a handful of the sweet fruit.

And then she heard the growl. Ruby turned slowly. It wasn't a Grimm, but even a lone wolf could spell the end for a ten-year-old girl. Ruby looked between the wolf and the spot where she dropped her sword... on the other side of it.  _Okay, dropped my sword, stupid mistake… I have to get it._  She watched the wolf carefully. One of the first things Miizu taught her about hunting was how to tell whether an animal was furious or scared. The scared look in its eyes, and the lack of any other shifting in the bushes, told Ruby the animal was separated from its pack. But that same look told her the wolf was also hungry.

The wolf's legs tensed, and Ruby ducked. When the wolf pounced, Ruby was no longer where he would land. She tucked into a roll and made it to her sword. Coming back to her feet, she realized the barking wolf was about as tall as she was. She wouldn't win this fight. To survive, she would have to run. She turned and took off as fast as her legs would carry. She heard the wolf at her heels, and pressed faster.

Suddenly a strange feeling took her chest. Not her heart, something else… something warm. She noticed strange petals appearing around her, and the scenery seemed to be moving at high speeds.  _No, I'm moving that fast!_  Ruby realized this must be her semblance. The doctors had to unlock her aura to save her life. But she was never allowed to train it, and now… now she had her special power.

And so she ran, but not for long. Another feeling came to her chest, and this one  _was_  familiar. Her heart gave out, and Ruby quickly realized this time was no simple murmur. She fell and rolled several feet, unable to stand. She tried to catch her breath, and the wolf was catching up. She had to get on her feet  _now_. With reluctance, she fumbled out the injector and took her dose. She got to her feet quickly enough, but not before the wolf pounced. She brought up her sword to block, but the creature's claws still dug into her arm as it knocked her to one side and down a shallow ravine.

From the bottom of the ravine, Ruby lay on her back and saw the wolf just ten feet above her. It looked down, gauging its chances. It eventually decided it wasn't worth it and walked away. Her left arm was stinging from where the wolf's claws had dug in. An injury she wouldn't have had if not for her stupid heart. She looked at the injector she still held, fury building. She hated the thing, the constant reminder of why her dreams may really be impossible. What if her heart stopped against the Grimm?

_But it wouldn't have stopped if you had taken the medicine._

It was a voice she heard countless times before, a deep thought she refused to admit was her own. She could beat this. She could move past it.

_You need to accept yourself_

The words stung. Three weeks she had survived all right, but she made no progress with her other lesson. No matter how long she survived on her own, if she didn't figure that out she would fail.  _I just wish I could overcome this stuff already._

_But you never will._

Ruby looked at the injector in her hand and had a thought she never expected to have. Why was she angry at the device? At her own heart? Sure, once they were a sign that she couldn't fight. But here she was, on her own in the wilderness. Learning not just to fight, but to survive. And both the device and her injury followed her. They would always be with her.

"I can't beat it." Ruby finally accepted. "But if I had taken my dose when my bracelet told me, I wouldn't have fallen before the wolf."

_You need to accept yourself_

Ruby believed she finally understood. The scars that would take a permanent residence on her left bicep would serve as reminder of what could happen should she forget this lesson. No matter how strong she got, she would always have this flaw. Until now, she believed she could overcome it, but it wasn't to be. But she could work  _with_  it. She only needed to accept herself, her strengths and her weaknesses.

Ruby fished herself out of the ravine and used her plant guide to find anything that could help her cuts. Once she dressed her wound, she could focus purely on surviving. Her lesson was learned. Now she just needed to live to prove it to her Master.

A few days later, Ruby entered the cave to see Master Miizu sitting at the far end, reading a book. Ruby set her gear down and stood before her. "Welcome back, Master."

"Hello, Ruby." Miizu never looked away from her book. Ruby had learned better than to assume that her continuing to read meant she wasn't paying attention. "Have you learned anything?"

"Yes, Master." Ruby nodded. "I have accepted myself."

"Explain." Miizu ordered her, turning the page in her book.

"My flaws are a part of me." Ruby told her. "Some I can overcome and not have anymore. Some will always be with me. But I can learn to live with those flaws, rather than fight with them. And in the end, though the flaws are still there, I'll be stronger for it."

Miizu didn't bother hiding her smile. Ruby deserved that little reward of seeing that her Master was proud of her. "Your vocabulary and grammar has gotten a little better as well."

"I've been studying with what free time I've had, Master." Ruby smiled in return.

"Very good, my student." Miizu closed her book and stood up. "You should get a full night's rest. I can watch the camp on my own for one night. Tomorrow, we pick up where we left off."

"Yes, Master." Ruby nodded. "Thank you."

"Also, we should talk about your hood." Miizu pointed out. "I know it means something to you, but the bright red is very noticeable. Maybe some... alteration?"

"I'll think about it, Master." Ruby told her. "Goodnight."

The little girl settled for bed, and her bracelet went off. Miizu watched as, finally without hesitation, Ruby took her medicine immediately.

Once again, Miizu found herself smiling.

* * *

Present Day

The city below stretched into eternity. Somehow, Vale looked both so small and still so large from the airship to Beacon. But Ruby wasn't concerned with the city below. Where she was going was far more important than what she was leaving behind. In recent years, Ruby resolved that while she could act like a huntress, she may never have the title true. But after last night, she was here on her way to Beacon academy to earn that very title.

"How do you do that?" Blake asked from beside Ruby. The younger girl had her hood raised, and Blake had to talk around it.

"Do what?" Ruby asked.

"I know how excited you are." Blake told her. "But you don't show it. I wouldn't be able to stop bouncing."

"You haven't stopped bouncing." The redhead pointed out.

Blake immediately halted. "Perhaps, but it's not Beacon I'm excited about."

"Then what?" Ruby smiled, guessing the answer.

"I'm going to Beacon with you." Blake returned the smile.

Their tender moment was broken up when a boy next to them decided the view wasn't for him. Or more accurately, his stomach decided. All over Ruby's boots. "Oh my god, I am so sorry!" He pleaded.

"EEWWW GROSS!" Ruby shouted.

"It is rather… smelly." Blake's nose wrinkled.

"Ughh… I better go wash off before it sinks into the leather. I'll be right back." Ruby walked away.

Blake was left alone at the window and became very self-conscious. Her ears were free for all to make fun of, and she did her best to shut out all the conversations around her. It was easier when Ruby was next to her.

Across the airship, a boisterous blonde was being dared by her friends to go hit on the raven-haired faunus. "Her friend in the hood is gone now, it's your chance!"

"Like you need to  _dare_  me to hit on that sexy thaang." The blonde chuckled. "Watch and learn, ladies."

Yang Xiao Long's father would say her friends were a bad influence. But honestly, Yang was the bad influence. She knew how she looked, and she flaunted it with style. That was all her, nobody was going to tell her what to do unless they had some authority to back it up. And if they didn't? Her shotgun gauntlets, the Ember Celica, would have something to say. The weapons were the only thing she wore with pride that wasn't all her, because her sister helped come up with the idea.

Yang halted for a moment. Thinking about Ruby always made her sad. There was no guarantee the girl was alive anymore, but that was one of the many reasons she was becoming a huntress. She had to find out.

She shook that all off, though. She can't do anything about it at the moment, but she could get tall, dark, and kitty's scroll number.

Yang was almost upon her prey when Blake spoke up. "You do know I can hear you across the cabin?"

Yang froze up. Blake turned to face the blonde, proving it was indeed her she was talking to. Yang shifted her weight and placed her hands on her hips. "Can't help yourself, huh?"

"Oh please, you over-inflated ego is your least attractive quality." Blake jabbed.

"Then what's my most?" Yang asked her.

"I'll have to think about that one." Blake told her.

"Come on, you came up with the ego thing pretty fast." Yang teased.

"I did." Blake confirmed.

Yang didn't know how to respond to that. "Come on, kitty, you can give me a chance."

"I'm here with somebody if you didn't notice." Blake told her.

"They're not here." Yang told her.

"I mean  _with_  somebody." Blake repeated. "Even you should have the respect to not get between couples."

"Couples?" Yang stalled out dead. "I… am so sorry, I didn't realize… Oh, stupid me…"

The sincerity of the apology caught Blake by surprise. "Look… just tell your friends I'm unavailable, and we can forget about this."

"Right… maybe we can be friends?" Yang offered.

"Maybe, but give me and my girlfriend a few days to settle in first? We don't stay in one place often, this will be all new."

"Yes, Ma'am." Yang nodded. "Talk to you later."

It took both girls ten minutes after walking away from each other to realize they never actually traded names.


	5. Chapter 5

One Year, Six Months Ago

A pack of beowolves was racing through the snow in Sanus's frozen northern region. The creatures of darkness didn't 'fear' anything, but they had some sense of self-preservation. Three of their number fell already to a lone human. When the eldest among them took to retreat, the younger Grimm were at least smart enough to follow suit. The beasts dashed through the snow until they saw another human. A different one, with much darker clothes.

The beowolves stopped short. This new human was blocking their path forward, the woods on either side too thick to run through. One beowolf charged to fight, taking a swing. His claw hit thin air as his opponent disappeared in a haze of flower petals. Above them, silver eyes stared down an arrow shaft as Ruby drew her bow. The arrow flew, striking the ground and causing a mass of ice that killed one Grimm outright and froze two others in place.

She strung the bow across her back and drew her sword as she fell to earth. Landing with a roll, Ruby used the momentum of coming up on her feet to add to her swing as another beowolf dived at her. The monster's head was cleanly separated from his body. Ducking under another claw, Ruby swung and severed this creature in two at the abdomen. She brought her blade back up to stab through the palm of the next beowolf, holding him in place as she shoved an arrow in his eye. Ruby activated the burn dust in the arrowhead before kicking the Grimm away. She was already fighting the next Beowulf as his head exploded.

Three attacked her at once, and Ruby unclipped her sheath from her belt. While still wooden unlike her master's, it  _was_  reinforced, plus she could channel her aura to keep it together. She knocked the first and second aside with a left and right swing of her sheath. For the third beowolf she held out her blade. The arc of its pounce had it speared on the end of her sword.

The first had recovered and lashed out, Ruby blocking its paw with her sheath. She dropped her sword in the still dissoving beowolf, and used a freeze arrow in the first beast's chest to freeze it in place. The second stood, and Ruby used a back hand-spring to pick her sword back up, its living sheath having completely vanished now. She swung right, catching it in the torso and tossing it away. She immediately swung back left to decapitate the frozen beowolf. She peeked behind her to see the one she caught in the torso dissolving away.

Ruby turned to stare down the last beowolf, which had sat the fight out so far. It had more bone plating, but it wasn't quite an alpha yet. Just an older beowolf. The creature was angry, and charged at the lone human. Ruby clipped her sheath on her belt and gripped her sword with both hands. She lowered her stance, the blade pointing behind her. Ready to strike, she let the beowolf come closer. It ran and jumped, extending its clawed hand. In a flash, Ruby's blade was pointing forward and the beowolf landed in two places behind her.

Ruby stood calmly and sheathed her sword. Growling reminded her of the two she trapped in an iceberg at the start of the fight. She pulled her bow off her back and fished out a gravity arrow and a burn arrow. She notched them both and took aim at the base of the iceberg. The resulting explosion killed the two Grimm, made the iceberg vanish, and even cleared away some of the snow to reveal hard earth. The snow quickly reclaimed its land.

"Ruby!"

The young girl turned to the voice of her teacher. "Master." She nodded, hanging her bow back up. "I'm sorry. You told me to wait for you."

"They were getting away." Miizu responded calmly. "You did good, Ruby."

Ruby caught herself smiling. "Thank you, Master."

"The contract is done, and we survived. That's a win." Miizu smiled in return. "Let's go turn it in."

* * *

Present Day

Ruby and Blake were wandering campus. After a short speech by Goodwitch and Ozpin, the new students were allowed free reign of the courtyard and the event hall where they would be sleeping. Tomorrow was the initiation. There were a ton of upperclassmen in the courtyard as well, mingling with the new students and trying to make them feel welcome. The afternoon dragged on, and Blake checked the time on her scroll. "I think I'm going to head for the event hall. I can set up my sleeping bag and maybe finish that book before tomorrow."

"Is it the one I read already?" Ruby asked.

"About the warrior prince." Blake nodded. "He just ran out on his arranged marriage. I think he's finally going to confess his love to the farm girl."

"Oh, you're close to the end." Ruby noted.

"Hence, I think I can finish it tonight. Are you coming?" Blake asked.

"I'll be along in a bit." Ruby told her. "I've been getting low on arrows for the past few days. I want to make sure I'm ready for anything tomorrow."

"You make your own arrows?" A nearby upperclassman overheard their conversation.

The girls turned the face the boy that spoke out. He had a compound bow across his back with a blade on the high end. "Yes, I do." Ruby replied.

"I know where the best trees for arrow shafts are on campus. I could show you?" He offered. "Purely platonic of course, ma'am. I'm not blind." He said in response to Blake's hardening expression.

Blake's face softened and she nodded, turning to Ruby. "I'll see you in the event hall."

Blake walked away and Ruby followed the boy across the courtyard. He began to explain, "Most of the trees are actually outside of where 'Uninitiates' are allowed to roam. But there is one that is  _just_ inside the zone."

They soon came to a tree like Ruby had never seen before. The branches weren't the sturdiest she'd ever seen, but for how sturdy they were, they were incredible lightweight. The tree itself was huge, with no shortage on branches. They climbed up into the tree together and started breaking the potential arrow shafts off.

"Seriously?" A voice below them spoke in disbelief. Ruby could hear the pretentiousness before she even saw the girl. Looking down revealed long white hair, expensive clothing, and an unmistakable symbol. After all her talks with Blake, Ruby could recognize this as Weiss Schnee. "I saw you on the airship. We're not even students, and the first thing you do is climb a  _tree_?"

"I'm preparing for tomorrow." Ruby told her.

"And how is that?" Weiss didn't believe her.

Ruby broke off a branch and wiggled it her direction. "Arrow shafts."

"You're breaking Beacon property for your arrows?" Weiss cocked an eyebrow.

"Do you make your own ammo?" The upperclassman asked.

"I don't use 'ammo'. I use a Multi-Action Dust Rapier." Weiss announced smugly.

"Fancy…" Ruby rolled her eyes.

"There aren't many students who use bows." The upperclassman explained. "But almost all who do make their own arrows. Hell, a lot of students who use guns make their own ammunition. Casings for bullets are provided by the school, and also some Dust but most student have to buy their own to supplement.  _These_  trees are only native to Vacuo. Which means they're imported. I don't think Ozpin imported trees known to make high-quality arrows on accident."

Weiss stared at the boy. It was dawning on her that he was probably right. Ruby collected a few more branches before being satisfied and jumped down. Once she and Weiss were on the same level, the heiress finally found something else to say. "You look a little young to be here."

"So what, you saw a kid climbing a tree and assumed I was being immature?" Ruby shrugged. "Although climbing trees does sound fun…"

"That's not what I meant." Weiss shook her head. "I mean, what are you doing  _here_? You know this is Beacon Academy, right? We're here to fight monsters."

Ruby looked the girl in the eyes. "How many Grimm have you killed?"

"What? I've never killed a Grimm." Weiss answered. "That's why I'm here to learn."

"Hm." Ruby looked over Weiss carefully. "You shouldn't assume so much about people. I've been fighting Grimm since I was eleven. I may be young, but I am not inexperienced."

Weiss huffed, obviously continuing to not believe the redhead. "Yeah right. I bet you're just trying to sound all tough."

"You're going to have a hard time finding a partner if you keep insulting everybody you meet." Ruby shot. "This isn't Atlas. Not everybody here thinks the Schnee's are the best thing to happen to the world." Before Weiss could respond to that, Ruby spun around and walked off.

* * *

One Year, Six months Ago.

"We cannot thank you enough. Those Grimm had been terrorizing our town for weeks."

Miizu was shaking the town leader's hand, having just received payment for the contract on the Beowolves. "It's not all thanks to me. My young student here took out most of them."

"Thank you both." The town leader nodded. "We don't have warriors here. The cold usually stops the Grimm before they ever arrive."

"The Grimm do seem to be getting stronger." Miizu noted. "Maybe you should start raising a few warriors."

"Perhaps, but that is village business I don't need to bore you with. I'm sure you are very busy. Thank you again."

Ruby and her master began to stroll through the snowy village. Miizu looked over her ward. "There's a question on your mind."

"I was wondering why we traveled so far up here." Ruby asked. "We stayed in the same general area by Vale for years."

"Well, for starters, you may not always have Vale a day's walk away. Your medicine may be more difficult to find outside the immediate area of a kingdom. You seem to have prepared well for that, though." Miizu smiled, recalling Ruby's preparation in stocking nearly a year's worth of medicine in various pouches. The redhead had also modified her injector to use shatter-proof vials. "The point is, as a huntress, you may  _have_  to travel like this. From one kingdom to another, and everywhere in between."

"I see." Ruby nodded.

"Also, there is someone here who I haven't seen in a long time, that I would very much like to visit." Miizu admitted.

"Who, if I may ask?" Ruby ventured.

Miizu smiled as they approached a home. "My sister."

Ruby looked to a woman in the yard of the house that looked very much like Master Miizu, but subtly different in many ways. The woman looked up and broke into a smile when she spotted them. "Christine! So  _you're_  the huntress the village hired! It's so good to see you!"

"Good afternoon, Joanna." Miizu stepped in the gate and hugged her sister.

"Come in, come in!" Joanna insisted. "I'll put some tea on. You can put your weapons down on the counter."

Ruby followed Miizu in the house and stripped their weapons. The place had a warm, lived in feel to it that Ruby enjoyed. It was comfortable. Comfortable wasn't something she experienced much under Master Miizu. Joyous laughing brought her attention to a couple of kids, neither could be more than ten, running around the house with a dog.

"Be careful, you two!" Joanna told her kids. "We have company!"

After the kids greeted their aunt, Ruby was invited to play pirates with them. Miizu encouraged it and soon Ruby was joining them, taking care not to hurt them with her actual swordsman skills.

Joanna examined Ruby with a keen eye. "So, who is she?"

Miizu smiled. "That's Ruby."

"The student you told me about in your letters?" Joanna looked over Ruby again. "I expected someone who impressed you so much to be a little older… Your last couple of letters, I was expecting you to say you lost her to Beacon."

"It wouldn't be my loss, but Beacon's gain." Miizu told her. "I do sometimes wish I could send her there. She's taken to her studies like no other. In three years, she's absorbed more than some students touch on in five. She's strong, resilient, adaptable, getting smarter every day." Miizu almost looked sad. "I don't know what else I can teach her."

"Wow…" Joanna smiled. "Sounds like she's been good for you, too."

"Oh, quiet, you." Miizu smiled. "She really is an amazing girl with a good heart."

* * *

Present Day

Blake noted Ruby's mood when the hooded girl showed up in the event hall and started crafting her arrows. The faunus nudged her girlfriend in the arm. "What's up?"

Ruby sighed. She didn't stop making her arrows, but that didn't mean she wasn't engaged in the conversation. "I had a run in with someone that you'll be  _very_  interested to know is in our year here."

"Who?" Blake asked.

"Weiss Schnee herself." Ruby replied.

"What is Weiss Schnee doing at Beacon?" Blake was surprised.

"I don't know. I tried to give her the benefit of the doubt, but she kept being mean."

"Maybe being away from Atlas will change her." Blake noted.

"I just feel sorry for whoever gets partnered with her." Ruby shook her head.

Blake nodded. "It's almost time for us to sleep." Blake looked over her girlfriend. Ruby was still wearing her leather outfit, complete with raised hood hiding her from prying eyes. "Did you even bring pajamas?"

"Umm…" Ruby froze, halting her arrow production.

Blake made note of her hesitation. "Do… you even own pajamas?"

"Look, I didn't expect to be coming to Beacon when I woke up yesterday!" Ruby defended. "And you know how I've lived and slept for years."

"Well…" Blake blushed and tried her best not to smile. "I have an extra yukata… If you want to see it."

Ruby looked over Blake and blushed similarly, but for a different reason. "Umm… Is it just as… short?"

Blake looked down at her exposed legs. She smirked. "Is that an issue?" she teased.

"Well… I mean… You look… good in that… I just… um…" Ruby flustered was a rare sight Blake enjoyed. In fact, the faunus girl was sure she was the only person who  _could_  fluster Ruby.

"It's… not just that…" Ruby admitted, and Blake's smirk stopped.

The cat-girl placed a comforting hand on Ruby's leg. "It's okay, Ruby." She assured her. "We're in Beacon. We're safe. You can let your guard down for one night."

"But there's so many people in here." Ruby replied. "I'm sorry. I think I'll just sleep in my leathers tonight."

Blake frowned. She often forgot Ruby spent the most of the last five years sleeping in the wilds with only one person for company. At most. So many people in one place, where she was expected to sleep as well… Of course it made her nervous. Ruby wasn't just a huntress. She was a well-trained survivor.

"Blake…" Ruby spoke up.

"Yes?" She looked Ruby in eye best she could with the hood on.

"What if we're not partners?" Ruby asked.

"Of course we'll be partners." Blake tried to assure.

"But what if we're not?" Ruby asked again.

"We will be."

"Blake." Ruby deadpanned. She wasn't looking to be comforted. "Seriously, what if we're not partners?"

Blake thought it over. "We could likely request a change of partners…"

"Probably…" Ruby nodded.

"Or we can deal with it. Learning to work with strangers is one of the things Beacon is all about. It's why we get four-member teams." Blake pointed out.

"I don't know if I could do this with a stranger." Ruby told her.

"Eight months ago,  _I_ was a stranger." Blake reminded her.

"Yeah… I guess…" Ruby nodded. "Okay, so we deal. Are you sure?"

"As long as you don't leave me for your new partner." Blake teased.

"I could never leave you." Ruby responded absent-mindedly. Both girls grew uncontrollably red. As comfortable as they were around each other, they only became 'girlfriends' a month or two before. A lot was still new to them.

Ruby broke the tension with a joke. "You know, I'm going to laugh if you have to deal with Weiss Schnee for four years because of this."

"Oh god, why did you remind me." Blake pouted. "Can we make that the  _one_  exception?"

Across the hall, Yang watched the girls laugh. The blonde almost walked up to the cat girl to continue growing a new friendship when the leather girl showed up. She knew now the leather girl was the cat girl's girlfriend, and wasn't going to interrupt them. It was nice watching them, though, even though she couldn't make out leather girl's face.

That was when Blake lowered Ruby's hood to plant a kiss on the girl's check. Ruby turned bright red and immediately covered back up with the hood.

"Yang? You look like you've seen a ghost." One of Yang's friend commented.

Yang didn't hear them. She was staring at leather girl. The hood was back up, but that second it was down was enough. Yang was close enough to make out features like silver eyes and dark red hair. But above even her eyes was that smile. Yang had rarely ever seen Ruby smile like that, not since the Nevermore feather. But she always remembered that smile, it was unmistakably 'Ruby'. She couldn't believe it. Her long-lost and thought-to-be-dead little sister was here at Beacon.


	6. Chapter 6

Five Years Ago

Taiyang was furious. When he woke up that morning and saw Ruby was gone, he had one guess as to what had happened. Yang was woken up by shouting between Taiyang and Qrow.

"Where is she, Qrow!?" Taiyang yelled the second Qrow walked through the door.

Qrow could only think of one woman he knew of where she might be that Taiyang would be concerned with. "Raven?"

"Don't play dumb." Taiyang warned. "Where's Ruby?"

"Wait, Ruby's… and that's why you called me over." Qrow realized.

"I won't ask again." Taiyang deadpanned.

"Well, newsflash, I don't know." Qrow told the man.

"Bullshit!" Taiyang shook his head. "You wanted to train her!"

"If I wanted to train Ruby under your nose, I would taken her a long time ago, instead of continuously trying to make you see reason!" Qrow shouted back.

"There's nowhere else she could possibly be." Taiyang reasoned.

"Well you can investigate me," Qrow offered, "and then you can  _blow me_. I warned you Ruby would disappear. That she would look for training on her own. If you had let  _me_  train her, we could've kept her here, kept an eye on her. And now she's gone."

"Are you trying to say it's  _my_  fault?" Taiyang accused.

"She's not Summer, you know." Qrow shot.

"What does that mean?" Taiyang shrugged his shoulders.

"I know Summer's death hit you hard. And then Ruby was injured soon after. But Ruby's injury wasn't what held her back. She could have learned to manage it, and you know it. Even you're not that dumb, so the only answer I can think of is that you're so afraid of losing Summer again, you refused to let Ruby live her life. She stopped being your daughter and became memorabilia."

"Fuck you." Taiyang cursed.

"Don't hate me because I'm right." Qrow deadpanned. "If it were up to you, Ruby would live with you forever. You would tell yourself it's to 'keep her safe'. And you would believe it too."

"Give. Her. Back." Taiyang refused to listen any further.

"You used to be better than this, Tai. You were a good father, you still are to Yang." Qrow shook his head. "I'm going to  _look_  for Ruby. You can stay here and make baseless accusations until the cows come home."

Qrow slammed the door on his way out. Taiyang stood there, staring after him. Yang dared to venture out form the shadows of the hallway. "Is Ruby really gone…?"

"Not for long." Taiyang promised, pulling out his scroll. "We're going to get her back. Hello! I'd like to report a kidnapping."

* * *

Present Day

Yang rolled over in her bedding, trying to avoid looking at Ruby. Taiyang proved to be wrong about the kidnapping, of course. Qrow and Taiyang's relationship had a permanent scar after all of that, and Yang was sure her uncle still didn't trust her father to this day. Neither one stopped looking for Ruby, but they couldn't stand to look together. They were all beginning to believe they may never find even the slightest sign of Ruby. But now there she was, right across the hall.

Yang didn't know what to do. Should she go over there and talk to her? No, that would be too much for both of them right before bed. But Yang  _would_  talk to her tomorrow, before initiation. Instead of heading straight to her sister now, Yang instead thought about all the times she had seen her today. On the airship, a few times in the courtyard… always with her hood up or her back turned.  _Does she know I'm here? Was she avoiding me?_

She was even tempted to speak to 'leather-girl' when she saw her climbing a tree earlier. She wanted to be friends with cat-girl, so she wanted to be friends with cat-girl's-  _Holy shit, Ruby has a girlfriend! And she's hot!_  There was so much Yang wanted to ask, so many reasons to re-connect. How did she survive five years? Did she manage to become the fighter she wanted? And how the hell did she get into Beacon? If Yang wasn't mistaken, Ruby was only fifteen right now.

_She could have lied on the paperwork. But she would still need to pass the combat exam? Unless she got completely fake transcripts…_

Yang couldn't fall asleep. She had to talk to  _somebody_. She got up to use the restroom, avoiding looking Ruby's direction as she left. Once in the bathroom, she pulled out her scroll and called her father. The scroll rang a few times, and went to voicemail. "Of course dad's asleep…" She tried Taiyang one more time before calling someone else.

"Heya, firecracker. What are you doing up?" Qrow's rough voice came over the line.

"Hey uncle Qrow." Yang smiled.

"Aren't you supposed to be at Beacon today? You should get some sleep." Qrow asked.

Yang heard glass clinking. "Is it five o'clock yet where you are?"

"Well, yeah… AM."

Yang shook her head and sighed. "That's not how it works, uncle Qrow."

"I'm on a job. Sue me." Qrow told her. "What about you not sleeping?"

"I… can't." Yang admitted.

"Why not? What's wrong?" Qrow gauged her voice. "Thoughts keeping you up?"

"More like memories…" Yang took a deep breath. "I saw someone Qrow. And I swear I'm not crazy."

"Who?"

"Ruby." Yang told him. "Ruby's at Beacon, uncle Qrow."

Qrow was quiet for a long time. "Are you sure?"

"Positive." Yang begged. "Please believe me."

"I do." Qrow sighed. "Listen Yang… it might be best for you to keep your distance, for now at least."

"What?" Yang didn't understand. "Why?"

"Just promise me you're not gunna talk to her before the initiation's over." Qrow insisted.

"Why not!? This is  _Ruby_! I-I have to talk to her!" Yang cried.

"Listen, Yang." Qrow spoke calmly. "She may not  _want_  to talk to you."

"But… we're sisters… that has to count for something…" Yang believed.

"I'm sure she once thought that, too…" Qrow lamented.

"What's that mean…?" Yang accused. "You're not saying  _I'm_ at fault…?"

"I'm saying nobody, myself and Ruby included, handled that situation well." Qrow assured. "You were doing what your dad told you to. But that means you didn't side with Ruby. At least, that's how she'll see it. It'll only make her angry to see you."

"You can't know that." Yang denied. "I  _need_  to talk to her."

"She ran without a word to you. Not a note, not a single sign she was doing okay." Qrow explained.

"How can she be angry? I was young, of course I listened to dad." Yang argued.

"I'm not saying she's right to be angry. I'm telling you she'll be angry regardless." Qrow took a deep drink. "But you're still going to talk to her tomorrow morning, aren't you?"

"I am. I have to. I have to try." Yang told him. "She's my sister."

"At least wait a few weeks to tell Tai." Qrow asked her. "You can't deny that won't go over well for anybody involved."

Yang thought for a moment before nodded. "Okay. I see your point there. I'll hold off on telling dad. But I won't lie to him forever."

"I know you won't." Qrow admitted. "Get some sleep, firecracker."

"Goodnight, uncle Qrow." Yang hung up.

Back in her mat, Yang dared a look at Ruby. She was asleep, hood up, snoozing on cat-girl's shoulder. The faunus was still reading, but fighting to stay awake. The blonde turned back over and shut her eyes tight. She needed to forget about his long enough to still her mind. Eventually, she managed sleep as well.

* * *

Four Years Ago

Taiyang stood at the door with Yang's bag in his hands. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"I am." Yang nodded. Today was her first day at Signal.

"You don't have to, you know. It's a dangerous life." Taiyang warned her.

"I had my reasons before Ruby…" Yang trailed off, not liking to think about her missing sister. "And in a few years, I'll be able to help look for her too."

"Well, let's go before we're late." Taiyang smiled. "Get in the car. I have to grab a few more things from my office."

Yang nodded and stepped outside. To her surprise, Qrow was waiting out there. Currently he was on his scroll.

"You're sure about this?" He spoke into it. "Good, it's probably best this way… stay outside the kingdom as much as possible… because if you're found by you-know-who, it'll be a mess. Besides, isn't that how you like to operate anyway?... Hey, I have to go. Be careful, Christine." Qrow spotted Yang and hung up quickly.

"What was that about?" Yang asked.

"A friend of mine. I was helping her with a job she's working." Qrow answered.

"What kind of job?" Yang was suspicious.

"The dangerous kind, but aren't they all?" Qrow smirked.

"What are you doing here, Qrow?" Taiayng scolded form the top of the porch steps.

"I came to wish my niece good luck at Signal." Qrow explained. He looked down to Yang and winked. "You'll do great, kiddo."

"Is that all?" Taiyang asked.

"I also figured I should let you know I put feelers out. I told some friends of mine to look out for Ruby." Qrow told him.

"I'm sure the police and the hired huntsmen can handle it." Taiyang crossed his arms.

Qrow held out a letter. "It's been months Tai. The cops are calling it quits, and the contract is expired. As far as the law is concerned, Ruby Xaio Long might as well be dead."

Taiyang read over the letter, which confirmed what Qrow just told him. "This is bullshit, they can't just give up!"

"A kid Ruby's age would have trouble surviving the wilds on their own." Qrow reminded. "I'm sorry Tai, but they can. All logic is starting to point-"

"Do  _not_  finish that thought." Taiyang warned, crumpling the letter.

"If only you had let me train her, none of this would happened." Qrow told him.

"Don't bring that shit up again!" Taiyang shouted. "I'm taking to Yang to school. You can leave."

"Very well." Qrow turned and walked away. "Goddamned idiot..."

Father and daughter piled into the car. Taiayng noted Yang's mood. "Don't worry sweetheart."

"Is Ruby dead, daddy?" Yang asked.

Taiyang frowned. Yang only called him 'daddy' anymore when she was on the verge of tears. "She's just as likely having the time of her life somewhere." He comforted, though he didn't quite believe himself.

It seemed to cheer Yang up a little. "Okay, dad… we'll find her, right?"

"Someday." Taiyang promised. "Someday…"

* * *

Present Day

When Yang woke up the next morning, she looked straight to the corner where Ruby and her girlfriend slept. The corner was empty.

"Mornin', beautiful. You okay?"

One of Yang's friends saw she was awake and greeted her.

"I don't know… try me again in a few weeks…" Yang told her.

"That bad?" She asked. "Your time of the month?"

"That would be way easier to handle than this…" Yang lamented.

"What's up?"

"Just… I'm sorry, I gotta figure this stuff out." Yang told her friend. "I'll talk to you later."

"See ya later." Her friend waved.

Yang dressed and roamed the hall. She still had a few minutes before she had to be in the locker room. While walking, she happened to see cat-girl. Ruby wasn't anywhere to be seen. Yang decided to call her out. "Hey there!"

"Oh, it's you." Blake looked up from her book. "How did you sleep?"

"Well enough." Yang lied. "Where's your girlfriend?"

"She's taking her time in the shower. Leather doesn't breathe real well." Blake explained.

"Well, maybe she should change to something that breaths." Yang shrugged. "Like… a skirt and corset combo?"

Blake gave Yang a blank stare. "That's weird… she told me she once wanted combat gear exactly like that. But her teacher told her she'd do better with something protective. She can't always rely on her aura."

"Why not?" Yang continued questioning. She wanted to milk as much information as she could.

"She might need it for something else." Blake told her. It wasn't her place to tell this stranger about Ruby's heart.

"Right… Not a bad plan. I see a lot of Huntsmen with armor pieces." Yang noted. "What combat school did she go to? No one at Signal ever told  _me_  that."

"Oh, she didn't go to a combat school." Blake told her. "She only had one teacher. More of a 'Master'."

"Really?" Yang thought about it. That would explain a lot… but could she really fight with her condition? "She looks a little young to be at Beacon."

"She apparently impressed Ozpin with her skill. They met by chance and he invited her." Blake explained.

"What…?" Yang couldn't believe it. The headmaster  _invited_  her younger, injured sister?  _There's no way Ruby's_ that _good… is there? Was Qrow right about her heart all along?_

"Look, as fun as it is to gush about my girlfriend, I really don't know what else I can tell you without her say-so. I don't know if I can even get away with what I already said. Let's catch up after initiation? I have to go find her." Blake held out her hand.

"Sure." Yang shook it. "But you know we're walking the same way?"

"Right." Blake blushed. "Lockers. I forgot."

They made their way to the lockers in awkward silence. Yang broke off at the door to get Ember Celica out of her locker. With her weapons on her wrists, she looked over the locker room with bated breath. She quickly found what she was looking for, a girl dressed in red leather from head to toe. Her hands were shaking as she walked Ruby's way… she couldn't believe this was happening.

"-She seems nice. I may have made a friend here." Cat-girl was talking to Ruby.

"Did you have to tell her all that about me, though?" Ruby asked. "It almost sounds like she wants to know me more than you."

"Huh, I haven't thought about it like that… oh, here she is now." Blake smiled when she spotted Yang.

Ruby turned, and for the first time in five years, the sisters laid eyes on each other.

Yang's heart was beating a mile a minute. Ruby stared, dumbstruck. Neither could believe this moment was happening.

"Heya, Rubes…" Yang smiled.

"Wait… how do you…" Blake was confused.

Ruby's fist clenched. " _Yang._ " Was all she said.

Blake's confusion vanished in an instant. "Wait, you don't mean?" She looked at Yang differently now, backing away slightly. She was ready to grab Ruby and run.

It turned out she didn't have to. Ruby spun around and walked away at speed, leaving Yang frozen in place. Blake rushed to follow her girlfriend. Yang was left all alone, her tear ducts threatening to release. She should have listened to Qrow. He was wrong in a bad way. Ruby wasn't just angry at Yang. The venom in her voice and her eyes… her little sister genuinely hated her. And that hurt far more than any simple anger.


	7. Chapter 7

Ruby was halfway to the initiation cliff before Blake managed to match her stride. She didn't even know Ruby could walk that fast without running. To be fair, Ruby didn't normally let her emotions dictate her actions. But Ruby's family was a touchy topic to even discuss, something Blake learned quickly the first, and only, time she ever asked. Seeing Yang now, knowing she would be in the same year at Beacon… Blake had no idea what was going through the redhead's mind.

"Ruby, wait!" Blake called out, grabbing her girlfriend's shoulder and stopping her. "I'm sorry."

Ruby turned to face Blake and crossed her arms. " _That_  was the 'nice friend' you were making?"

"I didn't know it was her." Blake responded. "We never got around to trading names. I'm  _sorry_."

Ruby spent some time staring into Blake's pleading eyes and thinking. "It's fine." She eventually sighed. "There was no way you could have known it was her. I never told you what she looked like, or how old she was. Hell,  _I_  forgot she might be here this year. You have nothing to be sorry for."

Blake sighed in relief. She didn't want Ruby angry at her before initiation. She didn't want Ruby angry at her at all, really. "I'm still sorry. I exposed you to that situation."

"There was no way I could have avoided her forever." Ruby pointed out. "It would be some incredible luck to completely miss each other in the halls for four years."

"Right…" Blake nodded.

Ruby smiled. "Good news is, you can totally change partners if you get Weiss. Because if I somehow get Yang, there is no way I'm staying with her."

"We each have our veto." Blake smiled back. "You ready?"

"Let's just be partners if we can." Ruby pouted. "That'll be so much easier."

"Come on, Ruby." Blake held out her hand. "Let's go."

"Fiiiine." Ruby took her hand in hers and the pair walked to the cliffs.

* * *

One Year, Six Months ago

"And then we had to run! We hid in that barn for  _hours_  while father looked for us!" Joanna Miizu laughed as her and her sister, Christine, reminisced.

"It was mom who eventually found us." Ruby's Master, the elder Christine, responded. "She was always a better tracker than dad."

The kids were put to bed and Ruby was listening to the sisters with a sad smile.

Joanna noticed and tried to include the girl. "So, Ruby, what's your family like?"

Christine stiffened slightly as Ruby's entire mood changed. "I don't have a family." Ruby answered darkly.

Joanna knew immediately she said something wrong, and didn't know how to recover. Christine began a new conversation with her sister, allowing Ruby to stew silently. There wasn't anything anybody could say now.

Watching the two Miizu's interact rekindled an ancient thought in Ruby. She always wanted a sister. A real sister, one who had her back. Listening to stories about how these two always got each other into trouble and tried to escape it together made Ruby wonder… If Yang had her back like that, how different would her life be? Could they have convinced Taiyang to let Ruby go to Signal? Could she still have had a family? The way Ruby saw it, she wasn't responsible for losing her family. They stopped treating her like family first.

Christine went to the restroom, leaving Joanna and Ruby alone. Joanna watched the young girl. "You're wrong, you know."

"About what?" Ruby asked.

"You have family." Joanna told her.

Ruby inhaled sharply. "You don't know what I've been through. I've never even told Master Miizu everything…"

"That's not what I mean." Joanna corrected. "You're right, I don't know. And I won't try to guess. But I know you have family."

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked, her anger subsiding, replaced with curiosity.

"Christine." Joanna smiled. "She's your family."

"She's my Master." Ruby shrugged. "That's not really the same thing."

"She's happy with you." Joanna rebuked. "Happier than I've seen her in a long time. You might be master-pupil but you  _are_  also family. She cares for you, Ruby. More than she'll ever tell you to your face."

Those words stayed with Ruby as they stayed the night at Joanna's. The master and pupil left the next morning, and Ruby held up by the house's front gate. She was absent mindedly staring at her master's back as she continued to think on what Joanna told her. "Ruby, come on. Ruby?" Miizu turned back around. "Ruby, is something wrong?"

_Is something wrong…_  The question simultaneously brought her back to reality and made her realize Joanna was right. "I'm fine." Ruby smiled. "Just thinking."

"Well, you can think and walk, girl." Miizu ordered. "It's time to move."

"Yes, Master." Ruby nodded.

They walked out the village before speaking on what's next. "How much medicine do you have left?"

"Enough to make it back to Vale." Ruby answered.

"Or maybe… there's a rather large village a few days away. A port town." Miizu proposed. "Port towns are very valuable and often protected and monitored by the kingdom who governs the territory. The doctor there may just have what you need."

Ruby checked her pouch, pulling out a collection of small liquid vials. "If they don't, we would be cutting it close making it back to Vale. Is there something in the port town?"

"Another contract." Master Miizu told her. "There aren't often hunts this far north. The Grimm are getting more powerful if they can survive up here. As a Huntress, it's my job to look into these kinds of things. Try and figure it all out."

"I see." Ruby nodded. "Like I said, we would be cutting it close. But if the port town doctor doesn't have my medicine, I  _could_  make it back to Vale."

"Then the course is set." Miizu nodded. "Let's move."

* * *

Present Day

"The first person you make eye contact with will be your partner for the next four years."

Ruby's nerves skyrocketed. She looked to Blake, and saw other people looking towards whoever they wanted as partners as well. She caught Yang looking her way and scowled. Hurt registered on violet eyes.

"Good luck." Blake wished her girlfriend. The pads beneath the students began throwing them into the air and down into the forest. Ruby tensed her legs, intending to stay upright. She watched Yang go, then the boy who puked on her… soon Blake next to her was fired gracefully into the air.  _Then again, everything she does is graceful._  The redhead smiled. Soon enough, she too was airborne.

Each person, save for vomit boy, landed knowing  _exactly_  who they wanted to be partnered with. Many of Yang's friends wanted to partner with the blonde, but she could only think of her sister. Blake landed wanting to look for Ruby as well, but she couldn't sense her around after she landed. She could sense Weiss Schnee, and decided to walk the other direction.

"Ruby, Ruby, gotta find Ruby…"

Blake stopped dead and immediately jumped into the treetops. That was definitely the blonde's voice. Ruby's estranged sister, Yang.  _She's looking for Ruby._  Blake hid within treetops and watched the brawler for a few minutes.

Blake knew a lot about Ruby. They only knew each other a short time, but that time was mostly spent outside the walls with only each other for company. Yet, as much as she learned, all she knew about Ruby's family is that their excessive protectiveness drove a wedge into the family that drove Ruby away. Talking to Yang the past few days without knowing who it was made Blake realize something. Ruby's grudge wasn't unfounded, but that didn't necessarily mean her family were bad people.  _Perhaps they even regret what they did._

Blake ruminations were interrupted when the tree she was perched in fell. Yang had picked a fight with two Ursa and the faunus was caught in the collateral damage. She landed on her feet, as she always did. The surviving Ursa's back was to her, and Yang had yet to notice her. She could still get away while she could still find Ruby… her survival instincts had taken over by the time she finished this thought, however, and her blade severed the Ursa's spine.

The best fell over and Yang's eyes caught Blake's. The faunus was still realizing what this meant when the blonde smirked. "I coulda taken him."

In the trees, Blake momentarily toyed with the idea of partnering with Yang. Now that just that had happened, Blake's mind went into overdrive considering every way this can be bad. There was no way this wouldn't cause friction for her, Ruby, their relationship, Yang, or any combination thereof. Yang's snapping fingers brought Blake back to reality. "So, partner. I figure you know my name. I never did get yours?"

"Blake Belladonna." Blake nodded. "Yang… Rose?"

The blonde was taken aback. "Yang Xiao Long, actually… Rubes calls herself Rose?"

Blake almost answered, but stopped herself. She didn't need Ruby any angrier at her than she might already be. "Look, Yang, we're partners. I get that, I can live with that. And yes, I am in a relationship with Ruby. But whatever happens between you and her, that's for you two to figure out. Just know two things, okay?"

"Which are?" Yang kept her face straight, showing she was listening.

"One, I will  _always_  side with Ruby. If anyone asks me to choose, it will be her without hesitation." Blake informed her.

"That makes sense." Yang nodded.

"And two, I will not answer any questions about her. Okay?" Blake finished.

Yang seemed down, but understanding. "Yeah. You're the boss." She managed a smile. "Least I know you're good for her. I won't have to beat you up."

"Even if I wasn't good for Ruby, do you really have the right to do that?" Blake deadpanned.

Yang lost her smile again. "I guess not… sorry…"

"Let's just get to the temple. Partner." The faunus threw in a smile to let Yang know she didn't hate her, even if Ruby did.

"Gotcha." Yang nodded. "And don't worry. I won't bring up… you-know-who again."

"Voldemort?" Blake teased.

"Oh, so you're a nerd." Yang smiled again. "Books or movies?"

* * *

Ruby stalked the forest quietly. She knew who she wanted for a partner. While she could live with having a different partner after their talk the night before, there was still one person she wanted to avoid at all costs. Even if she could request a change in partners later, dealing with Yang for the initiation would be stressful. Ruby creeped along, taking the treetops wherever there was a path. Blake liked it up high.

She heard someone fussing below her and looked down to see Weiss Schnee.

"Stupid Pyrrha, saving that blond, scraggly idiot…" The heiress whined. "We could have been the top ranked partners in the whole school, but nooo. I don't even know if I want to be on her team anymore, if it means being on that dork's team."

Ruby watched Weiss walk on, fuming to herself the whole time.  _She doesn't have a partner yet… the one she wanted was taken already._  Ruby was about to carry on when she heard Beowolves nearby.

"Hello?" Weiss called out. "Is someone there?"

Ruby face-palmed. There was far too much rustling for it to be a single human, and Weiss would have heard the subtle growls if she weren't venting to herself.

Weiss screamed and jumped back into the center of the clearing when the Beowolves pounced and surrounded her. She pulled out her rapier and focused on one of the beasts. Ruby watched out of curiosity for how the woman fights.  _She's left handed, like me…_  Weiss held her rapier tight and sized up her opponent. She did a great job of pushing her panic away and staying calm. But she was also taking too long to set her stance.  _She's not… she's not trying to perfect her starting point right here and now? There's almost a dozen of them!_

Weiss finally swung at her first target, a trail of fire exploding on the Grimm.  _She must have trained as a fencer. Her style is graceful. But her situational awareness is crap. She forgets the other Grimm are there when she picks a target. She has to be better than that…_  Weiss barely dodged a pounce by a beowolf, and decided to focus next on that one.

_She's going to get killed like this if she doesn't run now._  Weiss dropped another Beowolf and this time had to dodge two attacks. To her credit, she did so gracefully, but stalled trying to pick her next target. Ruby sighed heavily.  _If I'm going to do this, it means… sorry, Blake…_  The heiress took down another Beowolf and heard the growl behind her. With a gasp, she turned and saw a claw that would have hit her… If there wasn't a sword stopping it in its tracks.

Ruby flicked her wrist and severed the Beowolf's palm. She severed the Beowolf at the waist with her follow up, before backing up next to Weiss. "You know, we're here to fight monsters." Ruby smirked.

"I had that under control!" Weiss's nostrils flared.

Ruby swung at a Beowolf that tried to attack. "Then why'd you let one sneak up on ya?"

"That was a one-time misstep." Weiss replied, swinging at another beast. The two ended up back-to-back. "I know how to pay attention to my surroundings."

"Alright." Ruby nodded. "Show me."

A glyph appeared below a Beowolf in front of Ruby, and the creature was impaled by an icicle. All the while, Ruby heard Weiss defend against a Beowolf on the other side. "Satisfied?" Weiss's voice was thick with smug.

"Let's fight!" Ruby's excitement was clear in her voice. Sure, she had all the noble reasons for being a huntress. But Ruby could never deny that in addition to all of that, she really liked fighting.

Weiss fought, focusing on her enemies and avoiding wide attacks that may hit her companion. Ruby kept on Weiss's back and picked up her slack, making sure nothing would sneak up on her again. They didn't exactly work together so much as around each other, but they made do. Soon enough all the Grimm were down and the two girls looked to each other.

"I suppose this means we're partners." Weiss pointed out.

"Yup." Ruby nodded and held out her hand. "Ruby Rose."

The heiress noted that Ruby held out her left hand for a handshake. She took it cautiously. "Weiss Schnee, but you already knew that."

"What makes you say that?" Ruby asked.

"You called me out by name in the courtyard yesterday, remember?" Weiss reminded her. "'Not everyone thinks the Schnees are the best thing to happen to the world'?"

"Oh yeah…" Ruby nodded. "Sorry, I guess."

"Don't be." Weiss told her. "It  _was_  a wake up call. You're right, I'm not in Atlas."

Ruby nodded. "Well, we should get moving. Do you know where we're headed?"

Weiss smiled her signature smug smile. "Follow me."


	8. Chapter 8

"I thought you said you knew where we were going?"

Weiss halted at Ruby's question. "Of course I do!"

"Weiss, we've passed this same tree at least three times." Ruby deadpanned.

"How would you know?" Weiss turned to face her new partner.

"Because I thought it looked familiar the  _last_  time we passed it." Ruby told her, pointing to a cross carved into the bark. "So I put a big 'X' in it."

Weiss struggled to respond. "Well, I just got turned around. It's definitely… this way!" Weiss tore off in another direction.

Ruby stayed still. "You're lost, aren't you?"

"I know  _exactly_ where I'm going!" Weiss argued.

"Oh yeah?" Ruby replied skeptically.

"We're heading to… the forest temple!" Weiss proclaimed poudly.

Ruby stared at her partner. "We've been lost this whole time, haven't we?"

"Oh quiet!" Weiss conceded. "It's not like you're doing any better."

"I spent the last twenty minutes believing that  _you_   _knew_  where to go." Ruby pointed out, walking towards the tallest nearby tree. "If you had swallowed your pride and told me the truth from the start, I could have looked for it and we might have even been there by now."

"Look for it how? Climbing another tree?" Weiss scolded offhandedly.

"Again, how is climbing trees a bad thing?" Ruby wondered, more to herself than to her partner. "I'm getting a vantage point, Weiss."

The heiress watched her red-clad partner disappear into the foliage. "This isn't a movie, how can climbing a tree help-"

"I can see a stone tower over the canopy!" Ruby shouted down from up high. "A good bet it's our forest temple!"

"What?" Weiss couldn't believe her ears.

Ruby hopped back not and pointed with her head. "This way, c'mon."

"Let's go." Weiss scolded, blowing past Ruby and taking the lead.

"Jeez, princess…" Weiss's superiority complex was started to grate on her nerves. She watched Weiss take a left-hand path around a tree. "You might want to go a little more right!"

"I knew that." Weiss scolded, turning to her right to continue walking. Ruby sighed and followed suit.

* * *

"There is no way we are going the right direction." Weiss scolded after nearly an hour of walking.

"You took us circles going the wrong direction for how long?" Ruby was starting to lose her patience with the heiress's attitude. And it was no easy feat to wane Ruby's patience.

"We would have seen  _something_  by now." Weiss figured. "How can I even trust you actually saw something form the top of the tree? You could just be trying to sound impressive like that thing about fighting Grimm since you were eleven."

"If you doubt me," Ruby gestured to the many trees around them, "find out for yourself!"

"I could never deign myself to _climbing trees_." Weiss told her. "It's so… primitive."

"Primitive?" Ruby nearly laughed. "We're in a forest… fighting monsters… and trying to collect ancient artifacts…  _and you're worried about being 'primitive'!?_ "

"Hush you!" Weiss shouted. "There must be a better way to determine our goal."

Ruby face-palmed, letting her hand slide slowly off her face. She was starting to notice that anytime Ruby tried to tell Weiss a truth she refused to hear, Weiss would reply by basically telling her to 'shut up'. "Three more trees, Weiss."

"What?"

"Pass three more trees." Ruby told her. "And you'll see it."

"More veiled attempts to impress me?" Weiss scolded.

" _I'm_  not the one trying to impress anybody!" Ruby shouted.

"What does  _that_  mean!?" Weiss shouted back.

"UUrgh!" Ruby stomped past Weiss, counted the trees as she went. "One! Two! Three, and oh look!" Ruby looked to her left. "The tower I  _told you_  I saw! And look at this!" Ruby turned the right. "I see people gathered at more ruins!" Ruby stomped right back to Weiss, getting in her face. "But since I can't  _possibly_ know what I'm doing, I guess it's up to  _your majesty_  to decide _! You think that might be where we're going_!?"

Weiss was stunned. "No one, and I mean  _no one,_  talks like that to me!" She shouted back. "I am a Schnee!"

Words were not getting through to Weiss, and all Ruby was accomplishing was genuinely frustrating herself. She couldn't believe one person could be unbelievably stubborn. Ruby needed to find a way to break through, to force the heiress to drop her superiority and facade. Weiss wouldn't get very far in Beacon without dropping that attitude, and the redhead decided to take... drastic measures.

"I'm a Schnee," Ruby mocked Weiss's voice, "and that means I'm better than you! You should listen to me and follow me because I know everything,  _except how to walk straight in the forest!_ "

"Maybe you _were_  raised in a forest, if  _that's_  how you talk to your bett-"

Suddenly Weiss was seeing stars. When she could finally see straight, Ruby was standing over her. The heiress realizes she was on the ground, and that her face stung. "You hit me…"

"I hit you." Ruby nodded.

"You hit me!" Weiss shouted, getting to her feet. "How  _dare_  you!"

"What are you going to do about it?" Ruby goaded. "Or is a fistfight too 'primitive' for the Schnee heiress? Going to go tell on me to the teachers? Cry to daddy?"

Ruby noted Weiss flinch when she mentioned the Schnee patriarch. The redhead knew she hit a nerve.  _Now I just need to push her a little further._

"There's no bodyguards here, Weiss!" Ruby continued. "You can't go cry to  _daddy_! It's just you and me,  _so what are you going to do about it!?_ "

Weiss finally blew her top and swung her sword at Ruby. The redhead stepped back and out of Myrtenaster's arc. She drew her own sword and parried Weiss's next swing. Ruby was successful at enraging the princess. All of the rapier's swings were wide and emotional, and easy to counter. The redhead carefully watched and took her opportunity to counter, bringing the handle of her sword into Weiss's gut.

"Why are you even here, Weiss!?" Ruby shouted, making sure the heiress heard her. "Why not take a job in Atlas!? If you're so above us savages, why come to Beacon!?"

"SHUT UP!" Weiss screamed. Weiss powered her swing with burn Dust, not wanting to hear the rest of this. Ruby felt the heat on her back as she ducked under the fire-wave. Ruby came back up as Weiss's next swing came in from the left. She countered by swinging left with her own sword to meet it. The parry loosened Weiss's grip, so Ruby followed with a left-side spin kick. Her left foot connected with Myrtenaster and flung it away. Landing on her left foot, Ruby used the right to kick Weiss's chest and throw her into a nearby tree.

Weiss's back was against the tree when she looked up as saw a flash of silver. Ruby's sword imbedded itself in the tree, barely an inch from Weiss's face.

Ruby picked up Weiss's rapier and pointed it at her face. "Why are you here?"

"To be better!" Weiss shouted, tears bursting from her eyes.

"Better than who?" Ruby asked calmly. "Than me? Than everyone?"

"Better than my  _him_! Better than my father…" The heiress sank to the ground and curled up against the tree, sobbing into her arms. She was silent for a few minutes while she tried to regain herself.

"I'm not blind…" She eventually spoke slowly, "I know what he's done with the Schnee Dust Company… What he has done to the Schnee name… A name he bought his way into…"

Weiss heard her weapon get stabbed into the ground and felt the presence of her partner sitting next to her, back against the tree. "If you want to be better than your father," Ruby asked calmly, "why do you act how he raised you to act?"

"I don't know anything else, I suppose…" Weiss shrugged, not proud of her answer.

"Weiss…" Ruby thought hard on how to continue. "You do have money. And the Schnee name is very powerful. But you left a world where that got you whatever you wanted, and entered a world where the people in power don't care. These people have risked life and limb for the very survival of themselves and others. If you simply request everything, they will give you nothing. You can't demand respect here, Weiss. You have to earn it."

Weiss wiped the tears off her cheek. "The worst part is, I knew that… but I got here and… I had a plan. It was all going to work out for me. I was so confident of that and... i guess it got to my head."

"Nothing like that ever happens the way we think." Ruby thought about Blake, wondering who she got for a partner.

"I was even going to be the best fighter, but you just shut me down." Weiss sighed. "…That stuff you said… about fighting Grimm since you were eleven… It's true, isn't it?"

"I suppose if you going to be my partner, you should know everything." Ruby nodded. "I… have a heart condition."

"What!?" Weiss was shocked, spinning her head to face Ruby. "All you do, and you have a bad heart?"

"When I was 5 years old," Ruby began, "A nevermore feather pierced my heart. I should be dead, really. But I lived, because the doctors implanted Dust onto my heart to essentially keep it stitched together."

Weiss's eyes widened, zeroing in on her partner's chest.

"Hey, eyes up here." Ruby joked, and Weiss flushed red and looked away.

"So if the Dust keeps your heart together, how is it a problem?" Weiss asked.

"Because it didn't last for long." Ruby answered. "The very next day I was back in the hospital, my heart failing. The doctors gave me a shot that made everything better."

"It rejuvenated the Dust?" Weiss asked, and Ruby nodded. "But wouldn't the Dust fail again just as quickly?"

Ruby pulled out her injector and showed it to Weiss. "This is the injector. The thing that keeps me going. My bracelet directly monitors my heart and tells me when I need to medicate. And I use this, here," Ruby pointed at the flap on her shirt, "and it keeps my heart going."

Weiss reached out for the injector, and hesitated. Ruby smiled and held it out, and Weiss took it into her hand carefully. "I can't imagine having your life tied to such a small thing…"

Ruby saw her with the device and made a decision. "Y'know, I have a spare… and you are my partner."

Weiss saw where this was going. "Are you sure?"

"I've never been so bad I couldn't do it myself." Ruby shrugged. "But you never know."

Weiss carefully put the injector away in her pouch, planning to make a special place for it later. "About the 'fighting Grimm' thing, though?"

"Right." Ruby nodded, getting back on track. "I always wanted to be a huntress, for as long as I could remember. But after the Nevermore…"

"Yes?" Weiss leaned in.

"Sorry, it's… hard for me to talk about my… 'family'." Ruby spat the word out. "My father, Taiyang, was afraid that my heart would kill me if I ever tried to fight. My sister went along with him, and even my uncle, who I thought would be on my side, just kinda… stopped hanging out as much. A tragedy that should have brought a family together, instead…"

"They wouldn't consider what you wanted." Weiss nodded. "Thought you didn't understand."

"When I was ten… I ran away from away from home." Ruby continued, and Weiss was again surprised by the revelation. "And I found someone willing to train me. For almost five years, I  _lived_  in the forests outside Vale's walls. I killed my first Grimm when I was eleven years old. A Beowolf. Right up to its death, it's eyes were just so… hateful. They are truly monsters."

"You've never been back? To see your family, prove them wrong?" Weiss asked.

"I don't need to prove them wrong." Ruby told her. "I made it. That's what matters to me."

The two girls sat in silence for a moment before Weiss stood and drew her rapier from the ground. "We better get going. I still don't want to be the last one back." She looked over the area of their scuffle. "I got really turned around after all that… do you still remember which direction we need to go?"

Ruby stood and retrieved her own weapon before standing next to Weiss and pointing. "Right this way."

Weiss followed Ruby out into the clearing. A tall tower was on one side, and the other side was a smaller ruin with people at it. The heiress still felt the sting from Ruby's initial punch and looked to the redhead. "You know, you don't strike me as a person who would lose control and hit someone."

"Lying is about control. Lose control, and you can't even lie to yourself." Ruby told her. "C'mon, we have a relic to collect."

* * *

When Blake and Yang arrived at the temple, about half the relics were already missing. Yang walked the line of little statues, trying to pick one out. "How about a cute little pony!?"

"Sure." Blake shrugged. She sniffed at the air. She was familiar with Ruby's scent like she was with little others, and could tell she hasn't been at the Temple yet. "Should we hang out for a bit?"

"Why for, partner?" Yang asked, playing with the golden horse piece she picked up.

"Maybe someone will show up and we won't have to head back alone?" Blake tried.

"Or we could return to hang out with everyone who's already back?" Yang motioned to the many empty statue plinths.

"Well…" Blake sighed. "Ruby hasn't been through here."

"How can you tell?" Yang asked. Blake answered by tapping her nose. "So… you want to wait for your girlfriend?" Blake nodded. "Are… you sure that's a good idea?"

"I have to tell her you're my partner at some point." Blake reasoned. "The sooner the better."

"You could text her?" Yang suggested.

"Ruby doesn't have a scroll." Blake told her. "Beacon is going to issue her one."

The girls waited for nearly a half an hour before Blake noticed Yang step back a little. The faunus turned around to see her girlfriend approaching with none other than Weiss Schnee in tow.

The two lovers embraced. They pulled away and smiled at each other.

"Wow, someone gave the princess a shiner." Yang noted, making Blake look to Weiss.

"Is she seriously your partner?" Blake asked.

"I could ask you the same thing." Ruby told her, glaring at Yang from the corner of her eye.

"Yeah, it just kinda happened…" Blake replied. "Kinda by accident."

"Weiss was trying too hard to impress whatever teacher she thought was watching, and nearly killed herself." The redhead answered Blake's original question. "I couldn't walk away."

Blake nodded and looked over their respective partners. "What do we do now?"

"Well, we didn't technically get our vetoes," Ruby noted, "and besides, Weiss isn't  _that_  bad once I got through to her."

"Did you happen to get through to her with a fist?" Blake smirked. The 'shiner' Yang mentioned was a growing bruise on Weiss's left cheek.

"Maybe." Ruby shrugged. "I think with the right partner, she really could be better. It might be worth staying with her…"

"But that means I stay with Yang…" Blake pointed out.

"It might be easier once we're all on the same team." Ruby noted.

"Wait, what?" Blake stalled.

"Look at the 'relics'." Ruby motioned to them. "Two of most pieces, and the missing number could easily be the partners of the singles left. There's also still a golden horse, like the one s _he's_  is holding."

Blake looked over the so-called relics, that were obviously chess pieces on closer inspection. "You don't really think teams are decided by chess pieces?"

"Partners were decided by eye contact." Ruby reminded her girlfriend. "I find myself asking 'why not?'" The redhead picked up the other gold horse statue. She noticed then a pink clad girl and green dressed guy. "Who are they?"

"I think the pink one is 'Nora'. The other doesn't talk much." Blake answered. "They literally rode an Ursa here."

"What? Are they insane?" Ruby shook her head.

"I think 'Nora' may actually be insane." Blake nodded. "She asked why we were hanging back, and she kept asking questions until I told her I was waiting for my girlfriend. She decided to stay behind with us 'so we wouldn't be lonely'."

"Well, we should get going now. Ready?" Ruby held out her hand. Blake's ears twitched at the faunus froze. "Blake?"

"Do you hear…?" Blake asked.

Before Ruby could ask 'hear what', and ear piercing screech make them all wince. The high pitched scream sustained and got louder, and Ruby turned to see the guy who vomited on the airship literally fly through the air into a tree.

"Oookay…" Ruby raised her eyebrow. "Do you think whatever threw him followed-"

She was interrupted by a roar from the forest line. Ruby sighed, "I'll take that as a yes."


	9. Chapter 9

"Do you think whatever threw him followed-"

_RROOAR_

"I'll take that as a yes."

Just then a Deathstalker burst through the trees. The Grimm was on the tail of a rather tall and sturdy looking redhead, who was soon tossed like a ragdoll at Ruby and Blake's feet.

"Great! The gang's all here!" Yang snarked, "Now we can die together!"

Vomit Boy, who was currently hanging upside down, and the redhead found each other's eyes.

"Pyrrha!"

"Jaune!"

"NORA!"

_ROAARR!_

Ruby knelt down and helped 'Pyrrha' to her feet. "You go get a relic, I'll help your partner down! Weiss, can you hold it still?"

"Got it." Weiss nodded, and launched herself at the Deathstalker. It's stinger was soon encased in ice.

The petals from Ruby's semblance gathered around her feet, and she ran toward the tree Vomit Boy, 'Jaune' apparently, was stuck in at speed. Once she was at the base, she launched up into the treetop next to the boy. She looked back over the others on the ground, squaring up against the giant Grimm scorpion.  _We might be able to beat it if we have to…_  A screech from above them made Ruby look up. A nearby Nevermore had apparently become attracted to the sudden feelings of panic, confusion, and anger. "That complicates things…"

"What do we do?" Jaune asked.

"We can run!" Weiss spoke up. "Our mission is for the relics, not to fight these things!"

Ruby grabbed Jaune and pulled him down before jumping down the tree. She dropped the boy off with his partner and ran up to Weiss. "How is your ice holding?"

"It won't keep for long, we need to move!" Weiss replied quickly.

The ice started cracking already, the Deathstalker straining against the ice. The group didn't need much convincing. They all started running toward the other temple, the tower that stretched up from a seemingly endless gorge. They figured the tower could help them reach the top of the cliff behind it. The shadow of the nevermore passed over them when they were halfway there. "That thing is huge!?" Jaune freaked.

Ruby peeked behind them and saw the Deathstalker break its trap. "We may have to fight…"

Pyrrha noticed this too, and halted short to take pot shots and the scorpion. Nora followed suit, and Jaune and Ren stayed behind with their respective partners. As a consequence of watching this stuff behind her, Ruby ran slower and fell slightly behind the others. When the nevermore headbutted the bridge between to the tower, Ruby was the only one still on it.

"RUBY!" Yang and Weiss cried simultaneously. Blake, however, remained calm and watched carefully. Ruby tapped into her semblance to correct herself in midair, the petals that remained gathered around her legs. She landed on some falling debris, and immediately shot upward on an intercept path with the nevermore. It opened its beak to catch the girl, and Ruby drew her sword and swung up, forcing the bird's jaw closed.

Ruby rose a few more feet before falling onto the Nevermore's back, stabbing her sword into the Grimm to stay in place. Petals formed at her feet once again as she pulled back on the handle of the sword, guiding the Nevermore to fly straight up and aim it's back at the tower. On the tower itself, Blake knew what to do. She drew her sword and threw the sickle form into a nearby pillar, grabbing the ribbon and swinging around a second pillar. She pulled the cord taut and waited. Ruby smiled and launched off the nevermore, aimed right at the ribbon. Petals trailed behind her and disappeared as she slowed down, but she was still moving fast enough to cause serious damage to herself if she missed. As Ruby flew over the ribbon she grabbed it. Blake held tight as Ruby swung a circle around the fabric and let go, the trick slowing the redhead to a far more manageable speed to safely land.

Weiss was amazed at the display. Not only did the redhead calmly handle the situation, she worked with the cat faunus so naturally and with zero oral communication.  _They must know each other, and trust each other completely… They were on the same page before they even knew they were on the same page._  The Nevermore calling back their attention brought Weiss out of her thoughts.

Ruby watched it turn to start another pass. Blake glanced at the other group, who had just nailed the Deathstalker's stinger into its own head. The cat faunus turned back to her girlfriend, noting the determination behind silver eyes. "What are you thinking?"

"Springboard." Ruby told her, unclipping her sheath. "But we need to get it closer."

"I think Yang might be able to help with that." Blake nodded.

"Fine." Was all Ruby could spare toward the thought of her sister. The redhead approached Weiss to continue her plan. "That bird's skin is tough. How much control do you have over your glyphs?"

"What do you need?" The heiress answered with a smirk.

Jaune stood back up as the Deathstalker dissolved and watched the girls on the tower put their plan into action. Yang started from on top of a pillar, firing long-range rounds at the Nevermore. She went so far and to jump onto the bird and fire round straight down its throat before practically throwing it into the side of the cliff. Blake and Ruby knew they needed to move before the bird could take flight once more. Blake was already at the edge of the tower in front of the Nevermore, and knelt down for the 'spingboard'.

Ruby brought the pommel of her sword to the mouth of her sheath. The matching devices on the ends of both parts of Ruby's weapon unfolded and linked together, making one large crescent-shaped piece. Weiss saw this and realized that she had seen Ruby's sword and her quiver of arrows, but never gave much thought to her seemingly missing bow. Such a design as her weapon had would eliminate the need to trade out her weapons, cutting time off the transition from close combat to ranged.

Ruby ran up behind Blake as the nevermore began to flap its wings. The redhead planted a foot on Blake's back, petals forming around the both of them. Blake jumped up, and used one of her shadow clones to jump higher and boost Ruby's overall height. The combination of both girls' semblances gave Ruby and insane jump boost, almost literally flying into the air to meet the Nevermore that was also trying to gain height.

Ruby held her weapon in her right hand at the top of the sheath, the handle and blade pointed upward above it. She pulled two arrows out of her quiver, one Burn and one Gravity. She set the arrows between two pegs pointing out from the side of the bow-connect and pulled, feeling the resistance grow as she drew the bow. Ruby stared down the arrow shafts and saw the Nevermore's head come level with her shot. A black glyph appeared before her at the last possible moment, and Ruby let the arrows fly through them.

Weiss's gravity Glyph gave the arrows added speed, which helped them pierce the Grimm's tough hide. The gravity dust in the arrow gave the burn dust in the other arrow extra oomph. The resulting explosion shredded the Nevermore's head to nothing in an instant, and sent Ruby flying backward and down towards the tower. The redhead curled up loosely and landed bridal-style in Blake's waiting arms. The Nevermore's body fell slowly down the chasm as it dissolved.

"My hero." Ruby smirked at her girlfriend.

Blake smiled back. "And just like that, you completely forget you just took down a  _giant Nevermore_."

" _We_ did. All… four of us." Ruby nodded as Blake set her down. "And really, he was no big deal."

* * *

"Jaune Arc, Nora Valkyrie, Pyrrha Nikos, and Lie Ren." Ozpin called the four to stage at the induction ceremony later that day. The to-be Beacon students took the stage confidently. Well, except for Jaune, really. Ruby still couldn't figure him out. It was almost like he didn't belong on the same level as the rest of the first years…

"The four of you retrieved the white rook pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team JNPR. Led by, Jaune Arc."

"Huh?" Jaune looked seriously confused. "Led by?"

"Congratulations, young man." Ozpin nodded.

Ruby considered this move while she watched the new 'Team JNPR' celebrate. Something about Jaune was off, but if the headmaster, the famous Ozpin himself, thought Jaune could be leader, what else was there to say?

"Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao Long." Ozpin called the girls to stage. Ruby pushed down her negative feelings about taking the stage with Yang. If they really were to be on the same team, she knew she would have to learn to deal with it.

"The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team RWBY."

Ruby allowed herself one last deep sigh of frustration at this final confirmation. She was on a team with Yang. Chances were, she would  _have_  to talk to her at some point. Ozpin looked back and forth between the two ends of the line, Ruby and Yang. His curious eyes lingered a little too long for the younger's tastes.

"Led by, Ruby Rose."

Silver eyes shot open. "Led… by…?" her little squeak of question was almost more pitiful than Jaune's. She was team leader? The fifeteen year old with a heart condition? If her goal in life was to rub it in her family's face, this would have been the perfect opportunity. As it stood, all Ruby felt was fear that she would fall short. Did she really deserve the prestigious title?

"Congratulations, boss." Blake teased, nudging Ruby as the students began to file out to their dorms. "How do you feel?"

"Like I have a lot to prove." Ruby answered. "But that's nothing new. Just… team leader… wow… I don't know if I can do that."

"You're a natural, Ruby." Blake reassured. "You have a confidence that inspires people to follow you. Just don't overthink it, and you'll do fine. Amazing, even."

Ruby nodded. "Well, in that case…" The redhead smirked, "as leader, my first order is for you to kiss me."

"They do say power corrupts." Blake rolled her eyes with a smile. The girls shared a chaste kiss. As they pulled out of it, Ruby spotted Weiss across the hall, trying not to stare at the young now-leader. "Shall we find our dorm?"

"I'll be along." Ruby told Blake. "I think I might have to 'leader' right now, actually."

Blake looked back at Weiss, then back to Ruby and nodded. The faunus left the auditorium and the redhead made her way to the heiress. Once there, Ruby tried her best to sound reassuring. "Your great plan included being leader, didn't it?"

Weiss sighed. "Yes, it did. My family expects me to be at my best. My father will never let me forget the fact I missed out on team leader."

"Take it from someone who knows," Ruby smirked, "our families aren't always what we need."

Weiss nodded, leaning against the wall. Ruby leaned up next to her. "So I'm leader. How are you holding up about that?"

"Honestly… after my behavior in the forest today, I'm hardly surprised I didn't make the cut." Weiss answered, lightly touching her bruise. "And seeing you in action against the Nevermore… You're a clear pick, Ruby. It might take me a while to get over my stupid personal emotions, but logically, I really should have seen it coming."

"I'm afraid I'll fall short. It feels like too much at once." Ruby admitted.

"If you ever need help," Weiss offered, "well… I promise to be the very best team mate I can be."

"Right..." Ruby nodded. Weiss noticed a sense of unease despite the redhead's following, "Thank you."

"So… About your family?" Weiss risked.

Ruby inhaled sharply and sighed. "Yeah?"

"Blake told me Yang is your sister." Weiss confessed. "How are  _you_  holding up about  _that_?"

"I was hoping to get by with a little interaction as possible." Ruby shrugged. "But being leader kinda blew that out of the water."

"Well, I can confidently say that as a Schnee, I am okay with a faunus on my team. It was nice talking to Blake before the ceremony… I learned a lot. It sounds like there will be enough tension in the team anyways." Weiss informed her leader.

Ruby nodded again. "That's good."

Weiss nodded in return, bringing her hand back up to her stinging bruise. "No amount of makeup will cover this up."

"Well, get used to that." Ruby pointed out. "It's a rough life, and you signed up for it. Let's find our dorm, okay?"

* * *

"It's pretty late already." Weiss pointed out once all four girls were back in the dorm.

"It's only eight-thirty." Yang pointed out. "Night's still early."

"According to our schedule," Ruby opened the provided class schedule book left for them in the dorm, "Our first class is at 9 in the morning. If we want a few hours to wake up, shower, and take care of whatever else," Ruby shut the book loudly and looked up to Yang on her bunk, "we need to sleep soon."

"And you take forever in the shower to begin with." Blake pointed out. She spotted Weiss's curious look. "Leather doesn't breathe."

"I actually was going to shower  _tonight_ , for that reason." Ruby told her girlfriend.

"You got pajamas today?" Blake asked. "When?"

"Actually…" Ruby seemed to grow embarrassed. "I was going to take your offer on your spare yukata. We need to make the best of our time, and if that means I shower at night and dress… lightly to bed, then…"

"Let me get it out for you." Blake nodded, smiling through her own blushing.

Ruby waited patiently for the sleepwear, and caught Yang staring at her. "What?"

"Nothing, it's just…" Yang rubbed the back of her head. "You talked to me directly… even looked at me while you did it…"

"Don't get the wrong idea, Xiao Long," Yang winced at Ruby's casual use of her last name rather than her first, "we're on the same team, hell I'm even the leader of that team. We need to learn how to talk to each other… whether we want to or not."

Yang nodded sadly, accepting that truth. "Yes, ma'am…"

"Here it is!" Blake smiled and handed Ruby a bright red, floor length sleeping robe.

Ruby stared at it. "You never actually told me whether it was as short as yours or not last night…"

"I didn't?" Blake seemed to have genuinely missed it. "I'm sorry."

"And it's red… Blake, you… didn't get it  _for_  me… did you?" Ruby asked. "When would you even have the time… or the money…"

"I… may have thought of you when I saw it in a store on my way back from my entrance exam." Blake shrugged. "I only didn't press you last night because I know you don't like to feel vulnerable in a crowd."

Ruby looked over the sleeping garment once more. It was simple, a flat red with black trim. She turned it to see a small rose motif on the back right shoulder. "Thank you, Blake…"

"Of course. Are we sharing tonight?" Blake gestured to her bed.

"Of course." Ruby smiled and nodded. "I'm hitting the shower now." Ruby entered the connected bathroom, excited to sleep in an actual bed at actual Beacon with her actual girlfriend. As she prepped for her shower, however, her thoughts turned to her reaction to Yang earlier.

Ruby wasn't really the kind of person to use last names the way she used Yang's, even if she was in charge of an individual. She felt it lacked a respect inherent to everyone. But she couldn't bring herself to be so cordial to her estranged sister. Speaking to her personally would fly in the face of feelings that had been festering for five whole years. And Ruby wasn't sure just how much of those feelings she could overcome for the sake of her team.


	10. Chapter 10

Weiss was used to waking up early. One thing Weiss was not used to was other people being awake when she was. Back in Atlas, either everyone was asleep or gone for the day when she got up. Things would be different at Beacon it would seem. The heiress sat up and stretched, hearing snoring from Yang's bed and gentle sleeping breaths from the bed Blake and Ruby shared. Then she heard sipping from one of the nearby desks and opened her eyes to see Ruby, in her sleeping robe, drinking from a small wooden cup.

"Is that coffee?" Weiss asked.

"It's tea." Ruby told her. "Coffee's not really a staple in the forests I grew up in. It's more of a tropical seed."

"You mean wild tea?" Weiss raised an eyebrow.

"Um, I guess you could call it that?" Ruby shrugged.

Weiss looked over the 'tea set' Ruby had laid out. A rough boiling bot sat on a wash cloth Weiss assumed was from the bathroom. Next to that was a dented metal teapot and an extra wooden cup, as well as a bag of leaves with a few… "Strawberries?"

"Yup." Ruby nodded.

"I didn't know you could make tea from strawberries." Weiss arched an eyebrow.

"You can also throw a chunk of strawberry in for extra flavor." Ruby told her.

"Did you make tea…?" The drowsy voice of Blake sounded from the other end of the room.

"Yes, ma'am." Ruby smiled. "Good morning."

"It's  _too_  morning…" Blake complained.

"Awww, kitten hates waking up." Ruby teased.

"I hate that nickname…" Blake frowned and looked up to Weiss. "You an early bird too?"

"The earliest back at home. Ruby beat me this morning." Weiss nodded.

"Someone wake up the blonde." Ruby stated after a few minutes of peaceful silence. "There's no way that much hair doesn't take forever to wash."

"I'm her partner." Blake nodded. "I guess that makes it my job."

"I call first shower." Weiss stretched and stood up.

Blake walked over to Yang's bed and shook the girl. "Later, dad…" Yang muttered and turned back over. Blake frowned and ripped the blanket of the blonde. "Ahh!" Yang fell out of the bed. She looked up with red eyes, but they faded when she saw her partner. "Ohhhh… right. Morning kitty?"

Blake narrowed her eyes at the blonde. "No."  _Only Ruby gets away with calling me 'kitty' or 'kitten'._

"Oh, sorry…" Yang stood and stretched. "I'm the last one up?"

"Yes, you are." Blake answered.

"Coulda told you that would happen." Yang stretched. "I hope the princess gets out the shower quickly. This mane don't clean itself." The blonde took a few moments to look around the dorm. "We should unpack and decorate before class. Make this room ours."

"Sure, I guess." Ruby shrugged.

Blake looked over her girlfriend with a curious eye. "Do you even have anything to unpack?"

"Not really, but you brought a bag didn't you?" Ruby pointed out.

"Wait." Yang held up her hands. "If you guys only have one bag between you, then what's all that?" She pointed to the corner of the room where a trolley filled with briefcases sat.

Ruby noted the polished shine each case maintained. "Must belong to the princess."

"All of it?" Yang asked.

"Yes." Weiss answered, striding out of the bathroom in her uniform. "And I'd best get started upacking if we need to be in class at nine."

"Well, you only got one bag, partner," Yang called to Blake, "So hop in the shower. I'll get my stuff situated and hop in after you."

The trio got to work getting the room in order. With nothing to unpack, Ruby helped her partner who had far too much. Most of it was clothing and Dust, which was shoved into various closets and drawers. She also somehow packed a painting, and the girls spent a few moments setting it up on the far wall and making sure it was straight. They were close to finished when Ruby decided to get dressed real quick, folding her Yukata on the bed as she donned her school uniform. She picked up Gilded Thorn and clipped it onto her belt.

"Wait, are we allowed to wear our weapons in the halls?" Yang asked.

"I don't think there's any actual  _rule_  against it." Weiss told her, as she had read the rulebook cover-to-cover. "But we are given weapon lockers for a reason."

"Sometimes simple solutions are best." Ruby shrugged. "I don't need a locker if I just keep my weapon on me."

"Well, they are  _rocket-lockers_." Yang pointed out, as though that was somehow enticing.

Ruby sighed. She didn't want to blow up at Yang first thing in the morning. "Which is just wasteful. It encourages complacency. One should always have their weapon on them anyway."

"But  _rockets_ Ruby! You can tell them to go anywhere!" Yang hyped, as if she were expected Ruby to start jumping around in excitement.

All Ruby had was a disbelieving look.  _Just stop, Xiao Long. Stop trying to connect. You obviously don't know anything about me anymore._  "I don't need to tell them anything if I just keep my weapon on me. Won't have to wait for it in a bad situation, either."

Ruby opened Blake's case and started putting her books on the shelf for her. Yang stared on, wondering to herself. "What happened to you?" She asked, not entirely aware she spoke aloud, "The Ruby I knew would be ecstatic about rocket-lockers…"

Ruby stiffened and turned to face the blonde. "What happened to me?" Ruby began scolding, reaching her last nerve with Yang. Blake exited the bathroom in time to witness the rest. "What happened, is that little Ruby had to grow up fast. What happened, is that you and Taiyang tried to keep me locked away like a Fabergé Egg. What happened, is that I had to leave that house when I was far too young to have to, to have any chance of living my dream. A dream both of you  _denied me_. So  _I'm sorry_  I'm not the sister you imagined. But you know what? Back then?  _Neither were you._ "

Ruby stormed out of the dorm, leaving a dumbstruck Yang and a surprised Weiss behind. Blake rushed out after her, with only the briefest look of compassion to the blonde.

Weiss and Yang were left alone in the dorm, staring at the spot where Ruby was a moment ago. Finally, Weiss cleared her throat. "We should get to class."

"How am I supposed to fix things when she won't give me a chance…?" Yang wondered aloud.

Weiss stopped at the door and turned to face the blonde. She sighed and walked up to Yang. "It doesn't help that you're not exactly trying to see things from her point of view."

"What?" Yang looked to Weiss.

"You want to act like everything is fine between you two, I get it." Weiss explained calmly. "But unfortunately, in this situation,  _you_  don't get to decide when everything is fine."

"Why the hell not?" Yang asked. "Okay, she got strong despite her disability. I get that. Maybe me and dad were too afraid she'd get hurt to try, but we did it because we cared about her."

"Did either of you take the time to talk it out and explain things?" Weiss asked, willing to hear Yang's point of view.

"Of course! I… well… kinda…" Yang deflated, "I guess dad always did just kinda yell at her. He stuck to just telling her, her heart would kill her. Ruby would argue, and now that I think about it… neither really made any progress. If I remember correctly, the last straw was when he canceled a combat class she tried to sign up for without telling him, and Ruby found the cancellation note before he could tell her. In the trash."

"And then she ran away." Weiss concluded.

"So, me and dad fucked up, but she's not blameless herself." Yang stated.

"Maybe not, but even if she doesn't see that,  _she's_  perfectly fine without a sisterly relationship." Weiss pointed out.

"So, I'm supposed to bend over backwards for her?" Yang frowned.

"If you want to be her sister again? Perhaps so." Weiss shrugged. "From what I've seen, she can back up most of her confidence. Though, from what I've heard, that doesn't cancel out the fact that she's stubborn."

"Look, Yang, I want to help you," Weiss promised, "But I have the feeling that Ruby is not going to change her views or who she is very easily. If you don't like it, then perhaps it simply isn't worth rekindling a sisterhood."

Yang thought hard on those words.  _I want to be sisters again. I want my family to be together again. But I can't look past Ruby's faults. Can I make her see? Or is there no chance?_

"Let's go before we're late for class." Weiss piped up, prompting Yang to finish getting ready quickly.

* * *

Team RWBY's first class had to have one of the most cringeworthy introductions of any class, ever. Of all time. He tried to give some grandiose speech about huntsmen and huntresses fighting Grimm to protect the people from the very world, or at least that's what Ruby got from it. Which is really just a strange interpretation of the job description.

After an especially awkward pause, Professor Port continued calmly. "That is what you are training to become! Now, usually I start things off with a wonderful, moral-rich and life-lesson-filled story of one of my own hunts. But today, I want to try something a little… different. Since the advent of the combat schools such as Signal, we are getting less and less applicants with real-world experience against the creatures of darkness. Some who had never even  _seen_  a Grimm. But we have someone with us who spent many years being taught in a master-pupil environment in the wilds, rather than the now traditional schools."

Port gestured to Ruby, who was suddenly getting stares by most of the class, including the TA. "Ummm…"

"Come on up, Ms. Rose," Port made a welcoming gesture, "Let the students hear tales from someone closer to their own age for once!"

"Uhh… Oh boy…" Ruby got up slowly and walked towards the front. One thing she was quickly learning she wasn't quite prepared for training with Master Miizu, and perhaps her largest personal lesson to learn, was how to handle being around so many people at once. "H… Hi. My name is Ruby Rose… and I'm sorry if I'm a little… awkward, I don't really have experience with… groups."

"How old are you?" Someone asked.

"F-fifteen." Ruby stuttered.

"What are you doing here?" The same voiced asked.

"Headmaster Ozpin invited me… personally." Ruby stammered.

Weiss was amazed. This woman, this strong, serious, capable warrior, was reduced to a stuttering schoolgirl by the simple fact that she was interacting with more than two or three people at once.  _I guess nobody is perfect…_

"Ruby." Blake spoke up form beside Weiss. "Take a breath. You're fine. You're doing great."

Ruby seemed to take some measure of confidence from her girlfriend's words. She took a deep breath and focused on faces of the askers to answer their questions. Eventually Port himself spoke up. "What about your hunts, Ruby?"

"Yeah, what was the first Grimm you've killed?" A kid asked.

"The first Grimm I killed was a Beowolf." Ruby answered. "My master weakened it, I only finished it off."

"So what was the toughest Grimm you've ever faced?" Another voice asked.

Suddenly Ruby's face darkened. Blake had seen it before… she was lost in memory. And not a happy one. The redhead shook herself free of her mind and managed a smile. "T-the toughest Grimm I've ever killed… would probably… be… an Alpha Ursa. And that one I fought by myself."

"Just an Ursa?" The voice sounded disappointed. "There are way scarier Grimm."

"Well, this Ursa must have been friends with a Boartusk at some point." Ruby explained. "And it had really spikey armor. Can you imagine a three-hundred-pound hedgehog, rolling across the ground at you at high speeds? It covered its weak points well."

"Rolling… like a boartusk?" The once-disappointed voice seemed in awe now. "How'd you beat it?"

"By tricking it into rolling into a few trees." Ruby told them. "Eventually it crashed into one spikes-first and instead of toppling the tree, it just stuck itself there, hanging upside down. From there, I could easily get at its neck."

The class made general noise of appreciation, and Ruby thought she had managed to get out of the original question. But the asker was not to be fooled. "Okay, so that's the toughest Grimm you've  _killed_. But I asked for the toughest you've  _faced_?"

The class looked to her expectantly and Ruby froze up again. She fell back into memory again…

_You need to go!_

_We can get out together! We can get you help in the next town!_

_We both know I won't make it. But I can make sure you get away._

_Master…_

"Hello!?"

Ruby was shocked out of her daydream. The class wore very different faces now. It was impossible not to notice the shift in the redhead's mood. Ruby took a deep breath and decided on her answer.

"It's… fun, to talk about the Grimm like they're nothing. To make light of these monsters," Ruby began, "but don't let that lull you. Never allow yourselves to fool yourselves. We know so little, the books here can only say so much. And they  _are_  monsters. There are…  _things_ , out there, things no one can warn you about. Things no one can prepare you for. Truly the foundations of nightmares. Beacon will fill you with confidence, but if there is anything I can teach you, it's this…"

Ruby had slowly gained the entire class's attention, even the students who had shown their lack of interest from the start.

The redhead took another deep breath and continued, "It's okay to be afraid. The Grimm _are_  frightening, and they deserve our fear. Don't rid yourself of fear, but learn to work with it. Because you cannot banish your fear, and trying will only make the fear stronger. Instead, learn how to keep moving when fear makes you want to stand still." Ruby's face darkened again, thinking back on the past. " _That_  is what will make the difference between being a victim and being a hero. Overconfidence will only kill you. Fighting in spite of fear is what true courage is about."

The class was dead silent. It  _was_  fun to question Ruby and get all these answers about her successes. Though that did make this sudden turn to such a serious truth more powerful. It was a wakeup call for many in the class, and some students were beginning to doubt their chosen profession after Ruby's words.

Port stepped up next to Ruby and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "As we try to give you a safe and enjoyable environment for your training, it is a good idea to keep young miss Rose's words in mind." He addressed his class. "This is not an easy career, and there is some wisdom only earned through tragedy. Please, no more questions. Ms. Rose, you may return to your seat."

Ruby returned to the stands, and asked Weiss if she could switch seats. Originally Blake was on the other side of the heiress from Ruby, and Ruby needed to sit with her girlfriend at the moment. She needed a familiar presence around her. Weiss easily accepted, and Port said nothing when Ruby curled into Blake's arms.

Blake had a good idea what was going through her girlfriend's mind. She was never able to coax the story of the ultimate fate of Master Miizu from Ruby. Anytime she tried, Ruby's mood would drop like a stone, and the faunus couldn't bear to ask her to finish the tale. Her master had meant a lot to Ruby, and whatever happened to her affected the girl deeply.  _Some wisdom is only earned through tragedy._


	11. Chapter 11

Glynda Goodwitch busied herself setting up for her next class. It would be the first sparring class for the new students. Among them Ruby Rose. Glynda frowned as she looked over the young girl's file. She didn't know what to think about Ozpin's decision. She knew they were short on applicants, but a fifteen-year-old with a heart condition?

"Having doubts?"

Glynda jumped slightly at Ozpin's sudden appearance. "Since that night in Vale. Really, Ozpin, what are you thinking?"

"We have applicants who aren't half as skilled as miss Rose." Ozpin told her. "Give her a chance, and I believe she will prove herself beyond her age and her injury."

Glynda rolled her eyes and huffed. She couldn't undo Ozpin's decision, no matter how much she may disagree.  _Then again, more often then not… he proves right in the end._  "Is she why you're here?"

"I believe she will prove herself." Ozpin repeated. "That being said, she still must actually do some… proving."

The first students starting filing into the classroom, Ruby and her team among them. By the time the bell rang, only team CRDL was late, though Glynda did note team JNPR barely beat the bell.

"Please take your seats." Glynda called to the class. "The purpose of this class is to keep you sharp on your fighting skills. While fighting the creatures of darkness is methodical and routine,  _people_ can be unpredictable. And with the number of bounty missions and bandits in the countryside, it would be foolish to assume that as Huntsmen and Huntresses, you would never face human and faunus opponents."

The class nodded. The sparring class was a required part of the curriculum, and now they knew why.

"Aside from special circumstances, matches will be determined randomly. For this first week, we will do a series of one on one spars where everyone will fight at least once by Friday. There won't be 'homework' for this class, however I strongly advise you to practice fighting as partners and teams outside of class. Leaders can schedule for the training rings outside an hour at a time."

Yang half-froze at the thought. She looked over Ruby, the younger girl's expression serious. She was determined to do this leader thing right, and Yang sensed a lot of awkward combat practice in the future. The blonde found herself wondering just how much free time she was going to get with Ruby as leader…  _But if I can prove myself as a fighter, just maybe I can work my way through Ruby's shell._

Ruby was called within that first class. She stepped down to the ring and watched the randomizer pick her opponent. It settled on her partner, Weiss Schnee. The heiress stood up and stepped down to the ring.

They were walking side by side down the steps when Weiss spoke up. "You know that anger makes one's fighting erratic?"

"And?" Ruby asked.

"And I'm not angry this time." Weiss smirked.

"Okay…" Ruby raised an eyebrow.

Weiss almost stopped in her tracks. She couldn't tell if Ruby missed her attempt at friendly banter or intentionally wrote it off. Maybe she just didn't do it right?  _It's not like I have any experience with… friends… Ruby is my friend, right?_

The girls settled in opposite sides of the arena.

"You may be partners, but that is no cause to hold back." Glynda reminded them. Both girls nodded, and the teacher started the countdown. The two girls drew their weapons and set their stances.

Ruby watched Weiss carefully, trying to suss out any weaknesses. She did notice Weiss glancing at the screen displaying their aura levels.  _Training herself so watching her aura doesn't become a tactical disadvantage._ Ruby learned early how to gauge her own aura without technology, and resolved to work on teaching her team the same thing.

Weiss took note of Ruby gripping her sheath as an additional weapon. She did see this when Ruby first intervened with the beowolves, but it didn't stick. She was just realizing that Ruby was essentially dual-wielding.  _I have to watch out for twice as many weapons, as well as whatever else she has up her sleeve…_

The horn sounded the beginning of the battle. Weiss rushed Ruby at superhuman speeds, nearly taking the redhead by surprise. Nearly. Ruby still managed to avoid damage at the last second, jumping aside and knocking Myrtenaster off course with Gilded Thorn's sheath. Weiss planted her feet and spun back around, bringing Myrtenaster back in a vicious arc. Ruby barely blocked the strike with her blade.

Weiss's thin frame and thin sword made her excellent at quick attacks. Ruby stayed on the defensive, looking for an opportunity to counter. Once it came, Ruby took advantage by swinging her sheath right at her partner's face. Weiss instinctively cushioned her face with her aura to avoid a broken nose. She cursed herself when she saw the extra aura points she lost for the match.

Weiss realized that while Ruby wasn't quite as fast as her, she was still pretty quick. Swordplay wouldn't win this fight. Ruby rushed Weiss, wanting to finish this as soon as possible. It wasn't a good idea for her to drag out a fight, after all. Weiss whipped around and unleashed a wave of fire that Ruby jumped over. She brought her sword down on Weiss's figure, but her attack was blocked by a black glyph. Silver eyes widened as the gravity powered glyph held her in place like a magnet. Weiss smirked and swung Myrtenaster hard, flinging Ruby into the air.

The redhead flipped and landed on her feet.  _I need to stay close, not give her time to use her glyphs…_  She looked up to see Weiss rushing at her again, sword forward and both feet gliding above the ground. Ruby ducked, using her semblance to dodge Myrtenaster's point just barely, and brought her blade to Weiss's knees.

The heiress rolled across the ground and barely got back to her feet to see Ruby's follow up. She still couldn't raise Myrtenaster in time to not take the hit. Weiss splayed out on her back again and had to roll sideways to her feet to avoid Gilded Thorn, which Ruby stabbed at the ground. Back on her feet, Weiss watched for the next attack.

Ozpin watched intently as the spar dragged on. Weiss certainly had some level of training. Not quite as much as Ruby, but enough to give the redhead pause for thought. But he didn't doubt Ruby's skill. There was something else he wanted to see, something he couldn't predict but only hope he could see happen.

That's when Ruby's bracelet went off.

Myrtenaster and Gilded Thorn locked just a moment after the alarm sounded. Glynda reached for her tablet to pause the match, but a hand on her shoulder interrupted her. She turned to see Ozpin shake his head before refocusing on the match. The sparring teacher reluctantly set the tablet back down.

Ruby knew that Ozpin was watching. She had seen him at the beginning of the class. She also knew the match would not be halted for her condition, otherwise it would have stopped by now. Weiss's eyes darted around with concern, waiting to see what was going to happen. Ruby's face hardened as her alarm kept wailing. She knew what she had to do. "Don't hold back."

"What?" Weiss's eyes grew concerned at Ruby's words.

"They're not stopping the match. Don't. Hold. Back." Ruby repeated.

It took Weiss a moment, but she figured out what was going on. Her face became serious again, and she nodded. A red glyph appeared beneath Ruby and the redhead had to jump out of the way before the red dust glyph exploded. Ruby had already lost precious time between her bracelet's early warning and the impending heart attack. She physically dropped her sword and sheath, and had to focus on her medicine. Her acrobatic skill shined as she ducked, dodged, and flipped her way around Weiss's attacks. She was able to do so without using her hands, and instead focused them on setting up her shot.

Ozpin smiled as Ruby managed to take her shot in the middle of the action without pausing the fight. He had seen what he came to see. Once properly medicated, Ruby ran back to her weapons to re-entered the fray. The entire situation also proved to tire Weiss and give Ruby an edge in the fight. The redhead picked up her weapons, and quickly put together her bow form.

A multitude of glyphs appeared around Ruby, and Weiss flew at her once more. Ruby blocked that first attack, but Weiss quickly bounced of one of her many glyphs and struck Ruby nearly ten times in succession. A black glyph appeared behind Ruby that Weiss kicked her through, launching her back across the arena. Ruby back-somersaulted onto her feet and came up with her arrow notched. Weiss couldn't react before Ruby let the arrow fly at her chest.

An explosion rocked Weiss backward, and the heiress barely recovered in time to see the next arrow fly. Ruby ran at Weiss while notching another burn arrow and shot it next to the white swordswoman, staggering Weiss to one side. As Ruby herself reached Weiss, she spun and swung her bow-sword, the sheath end catching the heiress across the face. Weiss attempted a retaliatory attack, but it only hit air as Ruby's semblance had the girl retreating once again. The heiress heard a  _thwack_  and looked to her feet to see an arrow planted in the ground beneath her. She could only groan before the arrow exploded and took the last of her aura, ending the match.

Weiss heard the buzzer as she lay on the ground. She stayed there as Goodwitch announced Ruby the winner and the class  _ohh_ -ed and  _ahh_ -ed. The heiress eventually sat up, catching her breath. Ruby's hand entered her vision, offering her help to her feet. "You fought really well Weiss."

"Thank you." Weiss nodded. "You still beat me, though."

"You almost caught me when I was medicating." Ruby pointed out. "Just a little more one way or the other with that third glyph, and it might have been a different story."

"Ms. Rose." Ozpin approached the duo. "Congratulations on your victory. I look forward to seeing how you grow here at Beacon."

"Thank you, Headmaster. For everything." Ruby nodded respectfully.

"Like I said, the path is not easy. You understand what just happened was a test." Ozpin made sure.

"One I've had before." Ruby nodded.

 _So this was nothing new to her,_  Ozpin thought. "Ruby, if you don't mind me asking, who was your master?"

Ruby's face darkened the same way it did in Port's class earlier. "Christine Miizu."

Ozpin's eyes flitted down to Gilded Thorn. "I see. Please, enjoy your time at my school, Ms. Rose."

"Yes, Headmaster." Ruby nodded. Her and her partner made their way back to their seats to watch the next spar, which had already started during their small talk with Ozpin.

* * *

A few days passed and the girls settled into comfortable routines. Ruby would shower at night, get up early, and make her and Blake tea. The others would debate who showered after who in the morning and eventually get ready for the day. After classes, Ruby made sure everybody studied for a set time. Weiss always studied further, while Blake read and Yang either went out with friends or slept. Ruby would alternate between studies, reading with Blake, or one of her various other task of both personal and leadership nature.

"I got us booked on Saturday for one of the training rings," Ruby announced after study hour, "Noon to one."

"You only booked one hour for the whole weekend?" Weiss questioned.

"There are a ton of other teams besides us, Weiss." Ruby reminded her, "Everyone, not just first years, competes for time in those rings. I only got that hour because the guy in front of me was there to cancel. We may have to find an alternate solution. I asked an upperclassmen leader, and he told me they sometimes train in the Emerald Forest. We would just have to be careful of the Grimm."

Weiss nodded and found herself watching Ruby. She had decided to make arrows today. She had a large collection of arrowheads, each with a small empty tube set in the center. Ruby meticulously filled the tubes with various Dust types before fixing the arrowhead atop the wooden shaft from the Vacuan trees. The heiress watched the process closely, thinking back to when she saw Ruby use the bow mode against the Nevermore, and again in their spar on Monday.

Finally, Weiss spoke the question burning in her mind. "How do you fire arrows with no string?"

Ruby looked up to Weiss and took out Gilded Thorn, putting it together as a bow. She pointed to a spot on the black connecting device linking sword and sheath together. "She these little pins sticking out?"

Weiss looked closer at the pins. She notes a transparent black energy field suspended between them. "Okay."

"A combination of magnets and gravity Dust create an energy field with specific properties." Ruby explained. She took a coin and placed it on the field. Pushing the coin down stretched the field underneath it. "Extreme elasticity, and perfect shape-memory." Ruby let the coin go and the field sprung back flat, and the coin launched into the air.

Weiss caught the coin. "Heads or tails?" She smirked.

"Tails." Ruby nodded.

Weiss opened her hand to reveal heads. "Guess I finally win something. Did you build the device yourself?"

"No, I only came up with the concept." Ruby answered. "A weaponsmith up north built it for me."

Yang spoke up from her bed, "Hey, whatever happened to that Sniper Rifle-slash-Scythe you wanted to build? Crescent Rose?"

Ruby sighed, and answered with the same condescending tone she had used to answer all of Yang's stupid questions this past week. "Well, Xiao Long, I never learned how to build weapons. People who get to go to combat schools like Signal learn how to build weapons."

Yang winced at the hostile tone. She had made zero progress since her talk with Weiss. She sat up in her bed and decided to take a more direct approach, swallowing some of her pride in the process. "Ruby, can we talk? Seriously talk?"

Ruby halted in place, before slowly setting down the arrowhead she was holding and turning to Yang. "Fine."

"I'm sorry."

Yang's first words took Ruby by surprise. She raised an eyebrow. "For?"

"For back then." Yang clarified. "Maybe things would have been different if we had sat and talked things out like a family should. Maybe I should have at least had your back. But you understand, it's not entirely our fault?"

Ruby's eyes narrowed back down. "Excuse me?"

"Just, please think. We may have done it wrong, but we only wanted to keep you safe." Yang pleaded. "Yes, you made it. But it wasn't easy, was it?"

"I never thought it would be easy." Ruby pointed out.

"And so you ran because what?" Yang asked, "Because me and dad didn't let you train? I admit none of us handled things well, but that includes you. You signed up for that combat class behind dad's back. And I know you stayed behind school not to study with friends, but to hang around Patch's Huntsmen headquarters. We weren't too understanding, but you were just being selfish."

"So because of that, I'm supposed to forgive you for  _never_  having my back!?" The redhead's voice rose, "For going along with what Taiyang said without question!?"

"Not that, but because I'm trying to apologize!" Yang shouted back. "But you  _need_  to see how you were wrong too! Get off your high horse and grow up! You really ran because we wouldn't let you train? You realize how  _childish_  that is!?"

"OF COURSE IT WAS CHILDISH!" Ruby broke, "I  _was_ a child! I was  _ten years old_! I was repeatedly denied my dream! And  _none_  of you took  _two seconds_  to LISTEN TO WHAT I HAD TO SAY! And  _that's_ why I never came back!"

It was Yang's turn to be surprised. "What do you mean?"

"I thought about coming back," Ruby matched Yang's now calmer tone, "A few years into my training. I realized how stupid, how selfish, my reason for leaving was, that I could have talked things through. But in that same thought, I realized  _why_  things never got talked through. I wasn't given the chance to talk things through. Your father never even  _tried_  to explain things beyond 'it's more dangerous for you'. And I never truly  _denied_  that. But he spoke like it was  _perfectly safe_  for  _you_  to be a Huntress, and I  _showed_  him how I could make it as well. But he never listened, and then he just yelled at me. There was no communication, Xiao Long. Not since the day I came home from the doctors. That's not how you treat family, and I stopped feeling like family even before I left."

"I tried." Yang countered. "I always tried, to get you to hang out and join the dinner table."

"But it never worked out," Ruby rebutted, "Taiyang  _never_  tried, you  _never_  had my back, Qrow  _never_  even came around, and this 'conversation' is going in circles!" The redhead got up to leave the room, not wanting to continue this revolving argument.

"Ruby, wait!" Yang called out.

"What!?" Ruby shot, turning back at the open door.

"Say what you will about me and dad. I'm not  _blind_  enough to deny we deserve some of it," Yang told her, not hiding her scathing comment about her stubbornness despite her coming point, "But you should know Qrow was always on your side."

Ruby's expression softened slightly and she hung back in the doorway. "What do you mean?"

"Qrow wanted to train you," Yang explained, "And dad always shot him down. Threatened to stop him from seeing either of us if you ever caught wind. And well… if you ever want to talk to him, I can give you his number."

Ruby stared into space, thinking over this and the rest of this recent conversation with a calmer mind. "Thank you." She said, before closing the door and heading for the library.

It didn't feel like a victory, but Yang couldn't help but give a small smile.


	12. Chapter 12

That Sunday, Qrow found himself in Vale on very unexpected circumstances. He was luckily between contracts when he got a call from an unexpected individual…

_Hello?_

…

_Helllooo? Is someone there?_

…

_Look, if this a prank of some sort-_

_I'm sorry. I don't know why I called._

_Wait… who is this?_

_Look, I just… need to ask a few things. Can we meet? Sunday, the café on Main, in Vale?_

… _Ruby?_

And now he sat at the café, drinking a gin and coke, waiting for Ruby. He had to bring his own gin. He ordered a water for Ruby, not knowing what she would actually like to drink. Soon enough, he looked up at the sound of the door to see a teenage girl dressed head to toe in deep red leather. She lowered her hood and Qrow's breath caught in his throat… She looked just like Summer.

She approached table slowly. "The, uh… water's mine?"

"Yeah," Qrow quickly recovered, "if that's okay."

"It's fine. I usually drink tea or water." Ruby told him. "No soda fountains in the Emerald Forest."

"I guess not." Qrow smiled. "You said you wanted to ask me somethin'?"

"Yeah… A certain blonde told me some things." Ruby answered.

"Before I say anything," Qrow started, "I'd just like to apologize."

"For what?" Ruby asked.

"For not trying harder back then. For not convincing Tai to let me train you. I tried to tell him you'd take off." Qrow explained. "I'm glad you found a way forward."

"Yang told me you were on my side." Ruby told him. "But how can I trust that?"

Qrow looked over Ruby, his eyes resting on her sword. "I knew Christine Miizu."

"You  _what_?" Ruby's eyes shot open.

"She and I went way back. She used to give me status updates. I know you were stubborn about taking your medicine until a wolf threw you into a ravine." Qrow confessed. "I know you trained hard to reach your dream, and you have."

Ruby sat back, taking in this information. "Master Miizu…"

"Ruby, if I may…" Qrow asked cautiously, "Like I said, she used to give me status updates. And I haven't heard from her in a while."

Ruby looked back up to Qrow.

"And now you're here at Beacon. Alone, and wearing her Passing Weapon."

"What are you asking…?" Ruby spoke slowly.

"I don't need the details, I imagine it's not easy." Qrow shook his head. "Just tell me how she went?"

Ruby swallowed the growing lump in her throat and took a deep breath. "She died a hero. She died like a Huntress."

Qrow smiled and drank from his cup. "Couldn't ask for anything else in this life, I suppose."

"Yeah…" Ruby nodded. "Could ask to grow old like you and teach. Or retire."

Qrow snorted. "Yeah. Retire. I'm not  _that_  old yet. Brat."

Ruby smiled. "I did miss you, Uncle Qrow. Sometimes I miss Yang and Tai, too. Who they used to be, before that day."

"Yang's not bad." Qrow told her. "Maybe you should give her a chance."

"It's not that easy…" Ruby strained, "I spent years not even  _considering_  her as my sister. I can't just flip that switch."

"Even if you are wrong?" Qrow risked.

Ruby scoffed, "You're starting to sound like  _her_."

"Ruby, you have grown, and you've proven you can fight," Qrow told her, "but even you have to admit that  _everyone,_  yes Tai, yes Yang, yes me, and yes  _even_ you, didn't all make the right choices."

" _I know!_  Okay? I get it…" Ruby sank in her seat, "Everybody can stop pointing it out… But what can I do? I can't change what's happened, and I  _like_  how my life has turned out since I left. For the most part…"

"For starters…" Qrow smirked, "You can give Yang more of a chance."

"And Tai?" Ruby raised her eyebrow, curious at the obvious omission.

"Well, he's a different story." Qrow frowned. "Tai hasn't handled his grief well."

"It's not like I'm dead." Ruby vented. "And the doctor told him it  _was_  possible for me to fight."

Qrow looked up at Ruby, trying to gauge how much he should say.  _She's grown a lot. She's still fifeteen years old, but… that's no real reason to stay quiet._

Qrow sighed. "I do have a theory. One that doesn't paint Tai in a very good light."

"What else is new?" Ruby made no effort to keep the venom form her voice.

"Not much…" Qrow admitted. "He lost Summer. And he never really got over it. And then you were injured, nearly killed yourself. You look a lot like your mom, y'know. Spitting image, really."

"I reminded him of her." Ruby realized.

"I think, somewhere in the back of his mind, where maybe  _he_  may not even realize it…" Qrow spoke softly, "Well, let's just say he couldn't let Summer go."

"Was I still 'Ruby' to him…?" Ruby contemplated, receiving no answer.

They sat in a period of silence before Ruby spoke up. "Thank you for meeting with me, but I should get back to Beacon."

Qrow stood up and smiled. "It was good to see you Rubes. Thank you."

Qrow held out his hand to shake, and Ruby took it professionally and with a strong grip. Qrow smiled. When the two parted out front, his smile was replaced with a serious face. "You know he'll find out, right?"

"Taiyang?" Ruby nodded. "I know…"

"Even if Yang doesn't tell him or let it slip on accident," Qrow continued, "He knows the teachers at the school, and he's not stupid."

"I know." Ruby nodded again.

"You prepared for that?" Qrow asked.

"I don't know I'll ever really be." Ruby answered honestly. "I'd rather it just didn't happen."

"You'll do fine kiddo." Qrow ruffled her hair. "You stopped listening to old Tai years ago."

Ruby found her smile again. "Yeah. I'll figure it out."

The two waved goodbye at the door and went their separate ways. Qrow was happy that Ruby decided to talk to him again. Ruby found herself smiling as well. She entered that meeting still doubting Yang's words, but she had to know. She was glad her words were truth. Between Yang and the inevitable meeting with Taiyang, she was glad there was no drama between her and Qrow.

* * *

The days passed quickly. Before they knew it, Ruby and her team had finished their first month at Beacon. In that time, Port occasionally called Ruby back down for more stories, and she fought in Glynda's class three more times. Ruby worked hard, because she knew she had to. Some of the teachers could already tell Ruby would be one of the top ranked individuals, and had already led her team to the second rank for the first year teams.

The only team ahead of them in first place was team JNPR. Not that Ruby cared about the competition, in fact she got along well with Pyrrha. The tournament champion was impressed, as everyone was, with Ruby's skill in spite of her condition. They often traded strategies, with Pyrrha being experienced against people and Ruby being experienced against Grimm. The fact that Pyrrha was her go-to for team JNPR only made Ruby wonder more what was going on with Jaune.

That weekend it happened. It was honestly a little later that Ruby expected, and for an unforeseen reason. The girls were relaxing in their dorm. Blake read on her bed and Yang was listening to music. Ruby was at her desk sans cloak and jacket, looking over the team schedule for the next month. Weiss was studying, and occasionally looking over at Ruby's exposed right arm. It was the first time she saw the scars left there by the wolf from Ruby's early training.

About halfway through the day, they heard a knock at the door, and all looked over each other.

"Are we expecting anybody?" Blake asked the room.

"Team JNPR's out… I don't think we talk to anyone else?" Weiss told her.

"I'm too busy to make friends." Ruby spoke up.

"Then it's probably one of my friends." Yang nodded. "I got it." She got up and moved to the door, cracking it open to see who it was.

"Surprise!"

The voice made both Yang and Ruby freeze in place.

"What's the matter?" The voice asked again. "I can't surprise my baby girl?"

Ruby was thankful the door was only cracked, and that Taiyang couldn't actually see into the room, and see her.

"Dad?" Yang asked, "What are you doing here?"

"I just said, I'm surprising you!" Taiyang answered enthusiastically, "I was in town and thought I'd stop by. You made it through your first month, after all!"

To Yang's credit, she tried to maintain her usual banter, trying to deflect her nerves at her dad being so close to her sister. "Oh yeah? What, thought I'd be kicked out already?"

"You think I wouldn't hear the trouble you've already gotten into?" Taiyang goaded.

Yang smiled, though her unease was apparent.

"Hey, can I come inside?" Taiyang asked, "I'd like to meet the team I've heard so much about! Blake, Weiss, and… you never did mention your leader's name?"

"Well, now might not be the best time," Yang tried, "We're pretty busy-"

"Let him in, Xiao Long." Ruby sighed.

Yang did a double take Ruby's way. "Are you sure?"

"This is going to happen eventually." Ruby explained. "Let's get it out of the way."

"What is she talking about?" Taiyang asked.

Yang opened the door, blocking her dad's line of sight to Ruby with her body. She gestured to her other team mates. "That's Blake Belladonna, our resident ninja. This, is Weiss Schnee, our Dust specialist." She stepped to the side. "And this is my leader."

Taiyang's eyes locked with Ruby's, and the two stared at each other in silence. After an extended period of nothing, Taiyang finally mustered up a word. "Ruby?"

"Hello, Taiyang." Ruby responded, no emotion in her voice or face.

Taiyang flinched. "What… are you doing here? How are you here?"

"I earned my place." Ruby told him.

"Isn't it… dangerous for you?" Taiyang asked.

"It's dangerous for everybody." Ruby scolded. It seemed Taiyang hadn't changed one bit.

"Not everybody is a danger to themselves." Taiyang countered with a voice full of fatherly love.

A voice that failed to have any impact on the young leader. "I'm here, aren't I?" Ruby stepped up to him. "Two years early  _and_  a leader, no less."

"And how did you even manage that? What does Ozpin know?" Taiayng argued.

"Dad, wait." Yang tried. She couldn't believe that after five years of thinking she might be dead, this is still the first place Taiyang went to.

"Why don't you go ask him!?" Ruby shouted. "You wouldn't believe me anyway."

Taiyang turned and strode right out of the room. On the way out, he stopped at Yang. "You should have told me," he scolded, "you know this isn't safe for her."

Yang looked between the now closed door and her leader.

"Five years." Ruby vented. "Five years, and that's  _all_  he had to say to me. Like not a day had passed, like  _nothing_  ever happened. Like he can't see two feet in front of him to realize  _I made it here!_ "

"Ruby…" Yang reached out.

"What?" The young leader shot, "Care to share your opinion, Xiao Long?"

Yang was at a loss for words.

Ruby scoffed. "If you don't have anything to say, then  _don't speak up._ "

"Ruby!" Blake called out. "Calm down."

Ruby glared Blake's way. Blake's expression was unwavering, and the redhead eventually managed a deep, calming breath. "I'm sorry," She said, and much to Yang's surprise it seemed to be directed at her.

"What can he even do?" Weiss spoke up. "I doubt it's much. I have a feeling Ozpin would be on your side."

"We'll just have to wait and see…" Ruby sighed, returning to her work.

Blake watched for a moment and could tell her heart wasn't in it anymore. She walked up to her girlfriend's side. "Hey, you've been working hard all month. Take an afternoon off, okay? Let's read."

Ruby set down her pencil and nodded. "Alright." She stood and announced to the room, "I'm taking a shower, getting in my Yukata, laying down and not leaving my bed for the rest of this afternoon. We clear?"

"You're taking the afternoon off." Weiss nodded. "We understand."

Ten minutes later, Ruby was laying down with Blake half on top of her, one arm each around the other and their free hands holding their respective books. Each was reading a book the other had already read, and many two-line conversations and 'ooh's and 'ahh's' came from both of them. Blake could feel Ruby's tension slowly melt away until she wasn't worried about her near future. Not when the kingdom of Mithril Haven was in danger.

* * *

The next day, Ruby was lazing around the dorm. With nothing for the team to do and her thorough, though not obsessive like Weiss's, studying, she was enjoying an entire day off. She used this to catch up on sleep and didn't wake until noon. When Ruby woke up, only Yang was still in the dorm. "Where are the others?"

Yang looked to the leader. "Weiss wanted to spar, and left with Pyrrha. Blake went to the library after breakfast, not wanting to wake you. I was out with friends for a bit, but came back recently. Your scroll buzzed about an hour ago too, but I didn't look at it."

Ruby nodded and took up her scroll. She groaned. "Ozpin wanted to see me." She informed her sole team mate, sending a massage back about her catching up on sleep and she would be there soon.

"Just you?" Yang asked.

"Do you really want to follow me, Xiao Long?" Ruby scolded, hoping to push her away.

"I'm too bored for your moody butt to change my mind." Yang told her.

Ruby groaned again. "Fine. I'm not going in my sleeping robe. Give me a minute to change into my leathers."

Once properly changed, the strained sisters soon set off. When they arrived, Ozpin's secretary looked up. "Ah, Ms. Rose. The Headmaster is expecting you." She hit a button and let the pair up.

Ruby had been in Ozpin's office before, but this was Yang's first visit. She marveled at the size and luxury. "Lotta clockwork…" She noted.

"If you're going to be here, just be quiet please…" Ruby sighed. "You wanted to see me sir?"

Ozpin looked up from his computerized table. "Ah, yes. Ms. Rose. I wanted to discuss a rather interesting piece of paperwork to come across my desk."

"Which is?" Ruby asked politely.

"A request to pull a certain 'Ruby Xiao Long' out of Beacon for 'detrimental health conditions'." Ozpin answered.

"I knew it…" Ruby cursed under her breath.

"What's so interesting," Ozpin continued, "is that we have no 'Ruby Xiao Long' at this academy. Although we do have a 'Ruby Rose' with a heart condition, you have no listed mother  _or_  father capable of removing you from school on your paperwork, and you seem to have managed your condition quite well. Hardly 'detrimental' at this point."

"What the hell, Ozpin!" A familiar voice shouted. Ruby turned to see Taiyang had just entered the room. "She can't stay here, it will kill her!"

"I'm afraid my hands are tied," Ozpin shook his head, "As far as the paperwork tells me, you have no authority over Ms. Rose."

"Bullshit." Taiyang cursed. "Ruby, we are going home."

"You  _cannot_  be serious." Ruby almost laughed. Taiyang turned back to face her. " _Five years_ ," Ruby continued, "Five years, that I've vanished from your life. Five years, that you hear nothing of me. Five years, where for all you knew, I was dead. And the first thing you do on seeing me again, is to re-ignite the tired old argument that compelled me to run away in the first place?"

"Damn it!" Taiyang turned on Yang, "Talk some sense into her!"

Yang didn't even have to consider her next actions. "No."

"Excuse me?" Her father stepped close.

"I said no." Yang held her ground. "Ruby is an amazing fighter, and an excellent leader. I've seen her in action, and she has more than earned her place here at Beacon. A place, that if you didn't know, was offered by Ozpin personally."

Taiyang slowly shifted his focus onto the headmaster. "Is this true?"

"I was impressed by Ruby's skill." Ozpin explained. "And she has continued to do nothing but impress me."

The blonde huntsmen curled his fist. He pointed to Ruby. "This isn't over. I won't watch you kill yourself." He stomped out of the office, only stopping next to Yang for a moment to reprimand her, "I expected better from you."

Taiyang was gone from the office and Ozpin breathed a sigh of relief. "I only wanted to call you up to clarify this situation, Ms. Rose. I assure, you will remain at Beacon as long as you wish, and continue to prove yourself of course."

"Thank you, headmaster." Ruby nodded. She turned to face Yang. "You… had my back."

"About five years too late." Yang lamented. "I  _am_  sorry I didn't have your back, back then. Maybe things could have been different… Maybe I would have never lost you…"

Ruby stared at Yang, and found herself thinking on their few personal interactions in the past month. She had started simply by trying to be nice, and only rose to argument in response to Ruby's own abrasiveness.  _And I have been abrasive,_  the redhead admitted to herself. Stubborn as well.  _I've let emotions influence my decisions. What would Master Miizu think of this? What would be her advice?_

Ruby could have an idea, but she could never truly know. It was up to her to figure this growing mess out before it tipped in a bad way. As they left Ozpin's office, and idea formed in Ruby's mind.


	13. Chapter 13

The two girls were halfway back to the dorm when Ruby stopped short at one of the intersections. Yang, walking behind her, bumped into her at the sudden halt. "Ruby?"

"Grab your gauntlets quickly. Then follow me." Ruby ordered, taking a turn that led away from the dorms. Nervous, Yang  _technically_  wasn't in a position to refuse. Not that she'd get in trouble for not following Ruby in this specific instance, the young leader's tone made it clear Yang should listen. She grabbed her Ember Celica and ran to catch back up with Ruby. The new route was a mystery to Yang, but as they got closer to the intended destination, Yang had a better and better idea what that destination was.

Being a Sunday afternoon, the training halls were buzzing. People who were either resting before leaving or waiting their turns filled the bleachers, while various teams were practicing within 'the pits', the circular training arenas. Ruby spotted a team she had communicated with in the past in one of the rings and approached it.

The team themselves seemed tuckered out, but from what Yang knew about the scheduling they likely had at least another half hour. Their leader, who seemed to wield a bladed bow, was lying on the smaller internal bleachers of the ring, used mainly for team members who weren't currently fighting. In this case, the whole team. "Oh, hey! Ruby, right?"

"Yessir." Ruby nodded. "Taking a break?"

"A little one. Why?"

"I wanted to ask if I could borrow the ring? Just one quick spar, I promise." Ruby asked politely.

"Well, I need to down another water anyways, and the machine is  _wayyy_  over there." The man dramatically pointed, "I'll get you one, too. You can pay me back later."

"Thank you." Ruby nodded. She cocked her head at Yang. "You have your gauntlets?"

"Yeah." Yang nodded. "What's going on?"

Ruby spoke as she synced her and Yang's aura to set up the match. "I'm not good with people."

"Obviously." Yang quipped.

Ruby's eyes narrowed, but she remained calm in her explanation, "But I am  _very_  good at fighting. I've even learned subtle ways I can glance at someone's personality through their fighting."

"Really?" Yang was intrigued.

"Blake, for example, holds back when we spar," Ruby pointed out, "I've made mistakes she could have used to win a few times in Goodwitch's class, sometimes on purpose just to see if she takes them. She never does, even though she knows how much I don't like that."

"Because she cares for you?" Yang assumed correctly.

"I've also noticed Weiss cushions her Aura way more than she should," Ruby continued, finishing with the computer and stepping into the ring, "It's common with people inexperienced in balancing their aura, but Weiss in in Beacon. She can't be inexperienced. It's more likely she does it to ensure she doesn't get scratched or bruised. She has a need to remain 'perfect'."

"Yeah, but that's because of her family," Yang argued, "The pressure from her dad to be 'Schnee Perfect'."

"While that puts a positive spin on this fact, it doesn't make it any less true." Ruby pointed out.

"Fair enough," Yang shrugged, "but where Weiss wears her aura too thick, you wear yours too thin." Ruby looked to the blonde in surprise. "Oh, come on. You come out of Goodwitch's fights with way more cuts and bruises than you should. Weiss's flaw you can't see until you fight her, but  _that's_  tell-tale."

"I'm willing to sacrifice personal comfort for victory," Ruby explained, "Master Miizu didn't like it either, but the truth holds. My aura never goes down as quickly as other peoples' in class. Mine has more staying power simply because I don't always use it."

"And so what is this about?" Yang gestured around her. "Trying to figure me out?"

"Yes." Ruby admitted. "This fight isn't about winning. Just show what you have. Show me who you are."

Yang nodded and the two set their stances. One of the members of the other team in the bleacher helpfully counted down for them. "Three! Two! One! Begin!"

Ruby rushed in, petals trailing behind her as she reached Yang. Her blade came in from the left, and the blonde brought up her gauntlet to block it. Both blade and sheath came back from the right, and Yang blocked both of those too. A clockwise spin in the air resulting in blade and sheath coming twice each at the blonde, and she continued to block, holding her arms in an 'x' shape.

Yang was being cautious, but not about the fight. The look in her eyes told Ruby that she knew this was some kind of test. She didn't know how to pass, and she didn't want to fail.

_Does Ruby want me to throw it or fight back?_

Ruby swung upwards with her sheath where Yang's arms crossed, breaking her guard. Yang's face barely registered shock before Gilded Thorn's blade came across her gut and knocked her back. Ruby flourished her blade, "Just because this isn't about winning, doesn't mean you get to hold back Xiao Long." She goaded.

That settled it for the blonde. She still didn't know what this was really about, but she would not submit to Ruby like this. If her younger sister expected her to, then Yang would rather fail. The blonde got up and dodged Ruby's initial strike, winding up her arm for the attack. Ruby watched Yang's eyes as she took the hit. Ruby stumbled, though she also noted that Yang could have hit her much harder than she did. The brawler's face showed determination, but she still hesitated.

Yang had yet to swing again, hesitating once more, and Ruby used it. She slapped Yang with her sheath as hard as she could and jumped back, ready for what was next. Yang came back quicker than before, and tried moving in before Ruby could get her guard up. The redhead indeed raised her weapons, but couldn't move them around in time to block the attack at Ruby's side. Yang's other fist rose from inside Ruby's weapon range and delivered a rough uppercut.

Ruby's feet left the ground and she had to curl into a backwards summersault to recover once her heels first touched earth again. There was no more hesitation, and Ruby doubted Yang still cared about any obscure test. So why wasn't she going all out? The blonde could fire her Ember Celica, or even punched a little harder.

It wasn't until Ruby accidently cut Yang's hair that she would get her answer. The blade whizzed right past the blonde's head, and the tip of Gilded Thorn nicked a few short hairs. It wasn't anything longer than Ruby's index finger, and only three or four strands. The effect was immediate, however. The air literally heated up and Yang swung next. Her hair caught fire and her eyes turned red, and Ruby learned just how precious that mane was to the woman.

The fist caught Ruby's cheek with an audible crack, and the redhead spiraled through the air before landing on her back. The redhead was floored in more ways than one, and gripped her weapons tight. Before she could get up, Yang's semblance died instantly as her voice filled with concern, "Oh crap, Ruby, are you okay!?"

_Ruby, come on. Ruby? Ruby, is something wrong?_

Ruby's grip on her weapons relaxed, essentially dropping them as they rolled an inch away from her hands. She had been so stupid.  _No, I've been blind. Blind by my own stubbornness and confidence._

"Ruby, say something, please!" Yang pleaded, "I didn't mean to hit you that hard, I swear!"

"I'm sorry." Ruby said.

Yang paused for thought. "What?"

"I'm sorry… that I've been such a bitch," Ruby elaborated, "I'm sorry for not taking my share of the blame for the past. And I'm sorry for not seeing you."

"What do you mean by that last one?" Yang asked.

"For a long time, years, I've never really seen you and Taiyang as separate. You were two voices saying the same thing…" Ruby lamented, "And so when we all got here, I refused to see you as you. I didn't know why you were still antagonizing me, and of course I didn't see that I was the one being antagonistic."

Yang sat cross legged next to the still prone leader. "So, what about now?"

"You never hit me as hard as you could," Ruby explained, "And when you did, it was an accident you couldn't let yourself slip on. I was so intolerant of you that I convinced myself that you only wanted to be sisters so you and Taiyang could hold me back again."

"Ruby…" Yang shook her head and smiled, "I care about you, Rubes. Even if you are being a bitch. You're my sister, and I love ya."

"So…" Ruby sat back up, "You still want to be sisters?"

"Of course," Yang dared to hope.

Ruby nodded slowly. "All right."

Not taking a moment to consider if it was too much too soon, Yang drew Ruby into a hug. "Thank you." Ruby hesitated for a moment, but she did return the gesture. "Please don't let me down…"

"Heads up!"

Ruby's hand shot into the air to catch the thrown water bottle. "Thank you!" She told the other team leader as she stood. "And thank you for letting us borrow the ring."

"No problem. Good luck with everything." The boy nodded. "Alright, guys! Back to work."

Yang was smiled as she left the training hall with her sister. The mere fact the she could say those words was why she was so happy. Ruby Rose. Her sister once again.

* * *

Ruby and Yang's reconciliation proved a benefit to the entire team. Once the redhead ceased her antipathy, not just the sisters, but the team as a whole improved their communication. One little aspect that enhanced their overall performance and rocketed them past team JNPR into first place team of their class. The redhead would be lying if she said she wasn't enjoying her new relationship with her once and now-again sibling.

Although that isn't to say it was easy. When Ruby first ended her hostilities towards Yang she had assumed it was be as simple as being more polite and amicable. What she had failed to anticipate was that Yang would want to 'bond'. Yang didn't suffocate her by any means, and tried to keep an eye out for if she was being too pushy. And since Ruby promised herself to be more sisterly at the outset, she couldn't turn Yang down before at least trying whatever she planned, whether Ruby herself was excited or reluctant.

Today would be reluctance.

"Video games?" Ruby asked incredulously.

"Yeah, we haven't played since we started school!" Yang cried enthusiastically. In her hands was a game case and a controller. "It'll be sweet! We don't even have to leave the dorm!"

"Umm…" Ruby stared at the game, "Yang, maybe we could do something else…"

"What, afraid I'll whup your butt?" Yang smirked. "Don't worry, this one is co-op! We'll work together."

"Uh, Yang…" Ruby tried, but Yang wasn't hearing it. The blonde loaded up the game, sat Ruby down, and placed a controller in her hand.

"Alright!" Yang sat down with her own controller. "So, I'll place a waypoint where we can meet up at."

"A what?" Ruby asked.

"A waypoint! It'll show up on your mini-map." Yang told her.

"Mini-map?" Ruby was only further confused.

Yang looked over Ruby, realization beginning to dawn. "Yeah… It's in the corner there. It's a small map of the area you're in. That little arrow in the direction I'm in. Just come to me."

"Right…" Ruby stared at the controller, "Umm… how do I move?"

"Umm… Rubes, have you played a video game?" Yang asked cautiously.

"I don't think I've watched television since I was seven, let alone played a video game." Ruby finally managed to explain.

"Right…" Yang nodded remembering the last time Ruby had watched television with her family. A fight erupted that night that finally led Ruby to abandoning 'family time'.

"Yang…" Ruby began uneasily, "All this 'sister time' we've had has been great and all… but you don't think it might be too much, too soon?"

"What do you mean?" Yang deflated.

"I mean, shouldn't we, I dunno, talk about some things?" Ruby shrugged, "Before we get to the point of you trying to teach me video games?"

"Talk about what?" Yang asked.

"I don't know…" Ruby rubbed the back of her head.

"I mean, we both already know how the other feels about everything that happened back then," Yang pointed out, "I figured going into this new thing now would be kinda like… forgetting the past. I mean, what is there to say? I'm sorry I didn't have your back. I'm sorry I didn't try harder to get all of us to talk."

"And I'm sorry I was kind of a bitch back then. And now, too." Ruby nodded.

"So what is there to say?" Yang shrugged. "There's no point dwelling on conversations that will only upset us."

"But what about Taiyang?" Ruby asked.

Yang sighed heavily. "Well… honestly, I still don't know if you're in the right about how he supposedly 'saw' you. I always saw him trying to protect you."

"By locking me up." Ruby pointed out. "And yet whenever you two talked about Signal, it was a real conversation and he supported  _your_  decision."

Yang thought on that comment for a moment. "Maybe that's it," she suggested, "Say you're right and he didn't see you as you anymore. Maybe I have a hard time seeing whatever you see because he didn't treat me that way?"

"Makes me kind of jealous, honestly," Ruby admitted, "If that's the case, you never lost him as a father. Not like I did."

"At the risk of making you mad at me all over again, maybe you should give him a shot, too?" Yang told her, "Maybe we can finally have that big family conversation we should have had five years ago."

Ruby opened her mouth to argue, but closed it quickly. Recent events have taught her, her share of the blame in not being very objective about the past. Maybe there was yet hope in Taiyang. Then again, Qrow didn't seem to think so. He was right about Yang being worth it, though it wasn't a positive thought to say he may be right about Taiyang as well. She settled on an ambiguous, "Maybe."

It was enough for Yang. She wasn't expecting a total turnaround, but this was indeed progress.  _Maybe I can have my family back, someday._  "So, let's plug in a different video game! One that will be way easier for a beginner. Or to use gaming terms,  _noob_."

"Why does that sound derogatory?" Ruby questioned. She didn't get an answer.


	14. Chapter 14

Weiss found herself in a strange position. She had nothing to do. She couldn't even find a good excuse to study, and the three-day weekend they were given meant she finished all her self-scheduled studying the night before. Weiss had worked hard all of her short life, both at her father's and tutor's insistences, and because of her own desire to get the hell out of Atlas. Having literally nothing to do was a new feeling. She genuinely didn't know how to spend free time.

She looked over her roommates relaxing on their own bunks. Yang and she weren't particularly close, but after the first two months she could see past her brute exterior to someone who cared about her friends and family. They still didn't share enough personality traits for Weiss to consider them doing anything together. Blake shared more similarities, with a desire for quiet and an affinity for literature, but spending extended time with the faunus might be dangerous. Not that Weiss actively thought the way she used to, but because something might slip out when she isn't being cautious.

And then there was her partner, Ruby. The first few days of school, she was under the impression a friendship had already begun forming between the two. But ever since their heart-to-hearts on the day of initiation, the two hadn't really shared a personal moment. Not that Ruby was rude, she was very kind and doing well as leader. But they didn't really interact beyond what was necessary for team cohesion.  _Perhaps it's time to change that._

"Hey, Ruby?"

"Yeah, Weiss?"

Weiss shifted so she was facing Ruby and Blake's shared bed. "Do you… want to do something? Hang out in town, or something?"

Ruby visibly stalled while considering how to respond. "I… Why?"

"I just… I want to do something. You and I haven't done anything together yet and I want to hang out." Weiss explained.

"Blake and I were going to go to the library today, actually." Ruby replied.

"We were?" Blake asked.

"Well, Yang keeps dragging me away for stuff, it's been a while since we hung out." Ruby nodded. "So yeah, I was going to ask you. I think the library was re-stocked, there may be new books. Do you want to?"

"Well, of course…" The faunus replied uneasily. She had a feeling something else may have been at play here.

"Then let's go." Ruby smiled. The pair got up and left the room, leaving Weiss both lonely and confused.

Seconds later the door opened again and Blake entered alone. "Forgot my scroll." She offered to the room, walking to her bed to grab it.

"Am I a bad friend?" Weiss asked her, taking Blake by surprise. "I've never had a friend before, but friends hang out, right? Did I not ask soon enough or-"

"Weiss, stop." Blake told her with a sigh. She had a good idea what was going on now. "It's not your fault."

"What?" Weiss raised an eyebrow.

"Don't blame yourself," Blake repeated, "Ruby has difficulties with personal connections."

"But what about you and Yang?" Weiss asked.

"Yang is a very different and  _very_  unique situation," Blake explained, "As for me, it took me months to get as far as I have, and  _that's_  when we were in the wilds, just the two of us, constantly together, twenty-four-seven."

Weiss kept her brow raised, "You say that like you're not already close to her."

"How long have we been here? Two months now?" Blake did the math in her head, "Ruby and I have only been romantically involved for four months. And I've known her for almost a year now."

"Really? You didn't jump the gun a little?" Yang piped up from her bunk.

"Things just happen faster in certain situations." Blake explained.

"Like being alone in the forest, miles away from human contact." Weiss added.

"Living people," Blake corrected, using wording that allowed 'human' and 'faunus', "And even then, it took me almost a month and a half from when I knew I wanted to be  _with_  Ruby, to actually breaking through and getting her to agree to a relationship. And if you think she's let me in fully, then you're wrong. The only thing I knew about Ruby's family before coming here were their names, and that they hurt her emotionally. And I still have never gotten her to talk about whatever happened to her master."

"Wait, something happened to her master?" Yang asked.

"Well, think about it," Weiss responded, "It was just Blake and Ruby for nearly a year, without any mention of Ruby's master. If Blake met Ruby, alone, then where was her master? Why didn't they look for Ruby again, or the other way around?"

"Oh…"

"Ruby can be a very difficult person, and it's not easy to break through," Blake finished, "So don't blame yourself, Weiss. Chances are, it's her avoiding a closeness."

"Well… what about Pyrrha?" Weiss tried.

"You think her and Pyrrha are friends?" Yang smirked, "They may not be enemies, but I wouldn't call them friends. They traded strategies a few times, professionally. JNPR sit with us at lunch because the rest of us talk to them, not Ruby."

With that, Weiss was defeated. She was  _so sure_  she had felt the spark of friendship, so was she wrong? Or did Ruby feel it too, and squash it for whatever personal reasons? It seemed an uncharacteristically harsh thing for the redhead to do. Unless there was some deeper reason? If Ruby still hadn't opened up to Blake about certain parts of her past, was it due to sorrow? Or perhaps, there was something that Ruby feared...

Blake's scroll buzzed, showing Ruby's contact on the screen. 'Are you coming to the library? I saved a book for you~.'

"I should go." Blake smiled at the message and left.

The heiress sighed. She couldn't get the answers to her questions unless Ruby opened up to her, which seemed a long shot, now more than ever. And to top it all off, she was no closer to figuring out what to do with her day.

* * *

"Took you long enough." Ruby teased as she watched Blake enter the library.

"Had a quick talk with the team." Blake explained.

"About?" The redhead raised her eyebrow.

Blake considered how to answer for a long moment. "Nothing important." She decided on. She would bring up things more tactically in a bit. "What book did you find?"

Ruby held up the novel. Blake's widened as she read the cover. "I didn't even know this was out!" she said, snatching it out of her girlfriend's hands.

"I thought you'd like that." Ruby grinned.

The pair settled in a far corner to read. Blake opened her book, but didn't really absorb any of the words. She was too busy thinking about the conversation she had earlier with Weiss and Yang.  _Now is as good a time as any,_  Blake thought, shutting her book.

"What's wrong?" Ruby asked, instantly aware of the shift in Blake's mood.

"Nothing's wrong," Blake assured, "it's just… I think you should hang out with Weiss."

"But then I'm not spending time with you." Ruby flirted with a cheesy smile.

Blake rolled her eyes, but smiled. "As much as I would love to take  _all_  your free time for myself, I think making friends would be good for you. And didn't you say Weiss could get better with the right friend anyway?"

"Right partner," Ruby corrected, "and why do I need 'friends' when I have you? Or even Yang? That's a thing now."

"Whether you need them or not," Blake argued, "you shouldn't brush people off. Haven't we been through this before?"

"That was different." Ruby deadpanned. "That was with you."

"Ruby, I think it would benefit both you  _and_  Weiss if you accepted her friendship." Blake stood her ground. "You need branch out. You can't stay shelled up forever."

Ruby didn't have a response. She stared at her book, with her mind clearly elsewhere.

They returned to quiet for a few minutes before Blake dared to speak on the next topic burning in her mind. "Ruby?"

"Yeah…" The redhead spoke distantly.

"What happened to Master Miizu?"

Ruby stiffened up, just as Blake could have guessed. A different kind of absent haze passed behind silver eyes. "You know I don't like talking about it…"

"And this is just another thing you're bottling up," Blake pointed out, "you're an excellent fighter, but there's more to being a huntress… hell, there's more to being a  _person_ , than just fighting."

"Blake, please…" Ruby pleaded, drawing her arms around herself.

"I'm not trying to make you uncomfortable," Blake assured, "I care for you, and I want to help. Even if it's just someone to listen, so you can release these things. Please let me in, Ruby."

"Blake…" Ruby resisted, her voice was almost silent.

Blake wrapped her arms around her girlfriend and pulled her close. "Let me in…"

"It was my fault…" Ruby whispered, a tear falling from her eye and she buried herself into the faunus.

"Ruby…" Blake patted the girls back and gentle sobs escaped the redhead. The two stayed like that for some time, until the younger finally pulled away.

"I'm sorry…" Ruby offered.

"For what?" Blake questioned.

"Can we… just go back to reading?" Ruby asked. "I'll talk to Weiss soon if you still want me to."

Blake frowned, but nodded. The girls settled back into their books, though Blake still had difficulty processing hers. Ruby actually saying  _something_  about her Master's fate was bittersweet. It certainly was progress, but it wasn't much... Blake knew she cared deeply for Ruby. Deeper than she had cared for anyone in her life. But she could only stretch her acceptance of Ruby's unending hesitations so far… And the faunus was afraid of the day she would ask Ruby for more in their relationship, with the thought of ending things if she still refused to give it.

She was terrified that when that day came, Ruby would still be too scared to open up.

* * *

Nothing really happened for a few weeks after that. The class schedule told Ruby that something different was going to happen soon, but what that was she didn't know. That morning was just like any morning, with one notable difference. Ruby held polite conversation with Blake and Yang as usual, but then to Weiss's surprise, the redhead turned to her.

"And what about you? Sleep well?" Ruby asked.

Weiss was stunned. It was a simple and entirely common morning question. Just not one Ruby had ever taken the time to ask  _her_  before. "Umm… well enough, I suppose…" The heiress answered, still unsure of what was going on. "You?"

"I always sleep well with Blake." Ruby smiled. The faunus in question turned bright red.

"What about if Blake wasn't there?" Weiss asked, curious.

"I haven't had to worry about that for a long time…" Ruby answered cryptically. Weiss opened her mouth to press further, and was cut off by her leader, "You should get in the shower."

Weiss spent her whole time under the water cursing herself for pushing too far. Here Ruby seemed to actually be giving her the chance at the ever-elusive 'friendship',  _and I likely already wrecked it._ When Weiss finally left the bathroom, Ruby was smiling again.  _Don't look a gift horse in the mouth, Weiss…_  "What's on the agenda for today?"

"Just Professor Goodwitch." Ruby answered.

"Just?" Weiss asked, confused.

"Yup. All day. That's what the book says. Be ready for something different." The leader confirmed.

"You don't know what today is about?" Yang asked in disbelief.

"Nope." Ruby shook her head. "Neither do the other leaders I've asked in the past few days."

The girls readied themselves and made their way to the mess hall. The whole way, Ruby seemed to give off and air of nervousness and discomfort. Finally, after being nudged by Blake for the tenth time, Ruby turned to Weiss. "So… what do you like to do? When you're not studying?"

Weiss wasn't any better at making friends than Ruby seemed to be, and decided to not call out her awkward attempt at small talk. "I've worked most of my life, actually. I've rarely had time to myself."

"For seventeen years?" Ruby seemed to cringe. "Even  _I_  couldn't imagine that…"

"It's what's expected of me." Weiss replied automatically. "The Schnee name itself sets a certain standard."

"Says the woman who says she wants to change that standard." Yang spoke up.

"Yes, well… it's not an overnight process." Weiss crossed her arms. "It'll take work."

"If you don't like your family, why not just leave?" Ruby asked. "It's just a name."

"It's not just a name!" Weiss defended. "It's a legacy. A legacy my  _father_  is dragging through the mud."

"Profits  _are_  higher than ever." Yang piped up once more.

"At the cost of our soul," Weiss spat, "That's not a cost we should be paying."

"I still don't see why leaving isn't an option," Ruby continued. "You can change your name and never be associated with the Schnees again."

"I told you, it's not just a name," Weiss argued, "My grandfather built a company of integrity, of loyalty. And my father, who, keep in mind, wasn't even born a Schnee, has abandoned those values and twisted the very virtue of the Schnee name. If Gilded Thorn was starting to crack, would you just replace it? Or would you try to fix it?"

Ruby gripped the sword at her belt, letting Weiss's words sink in. "I guess… in that context… It does make some sense."

"I have the Schnee blood my father doesn't," Weiss finished, "And I'm going to repair the damage he has done. Including to the faunus." She added, looking to Blake.

Blake nodded. By now, the girls had all gotten their food and settled at the table. Ruby held her normal silence now, and Weiss didn't want to mess up again. But she just couldn't hold her tongue. Setting down her fork, she looked up to Ruby.

"Thank you for actually speaking with me, in a real conversation." Weiss told her.

Ruby raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, I've never had a real friend. I've never had someone I was comfortable speaking openly with, that I trusted…" Weiss continued, "so… thank you."

Ruby thought hard on what to say next, very conscious of Blake observing. "Weiss… forgive me if I'm not the best at this thing… speaking to a class, or to a village elder about a contract, is very different than… this," Ruby spoke slowly, "but someone told me I should open up a little more… and we are team mates, not to mention partners."

"Well, thank you Blake." Weiss smirked.

"Hey, I didn't say it was her!" Ruby immediately defended, her cheeks burning.

"Who else do you even talk to?" Weiss teased.

"Maybe not you, if you keep this up…" Ruby grumbled.

"You don't have enough friends to afford losing me." Weiss smiled.

"You just think that because you can afford everything," Ruby frowned.

Weiss's smirk failed, realizing Ruby missed her joking demeanor. "Excepts a proper sense of humor, I guess…"

"Wait…" Ruby stalled, "Were you…"

"It's fine," Weiss assured, "it was probably too much, too soon for a more… normal friendship anyway…"

"You  _both_  have a lot to learn," Yang pointed out, "I mean, that was painful to watch."

"Shut up, Yang."

"Quiet you."

Blake looked between the two partners, then to Yang, "Well, looks like they agree on something."

"Not sure how I feel about that…" Yang pouted.


	15. Chapter 15

As Ruby and her team filed into Goodwitch's classroom, she noticed every single first year team was present for whatever today was about. She racked her brain for any possibility as to what was going on, but she couldn't come up with anything.

"Perhaps this has something to do with the festival?" Weiss suggested.

Ruby gave the heiress an empty stare. "Festival?"

Weiss was similarly confused. "I know you spent the last five years outside of the kingdom, but you  _have_  heard of the Vytal Festival, right?"

"Is that in Vale this year?" Ruby asked, thinking hard. "Wait, don't the schools participate in a Tournament?"

"Yeah, they do!" Yang answered excitedly.

"Oh, crap…" Ruby sighed.

The students all seats and waited for the bell. Ruby's mind started to dwell on the Vytal Festival. She knew the Vytal Treaty was important to the history of Remnant, but she had genuinely forgotten that there was an entire festival every two of years. Life in the forest more or less made such information irrelevant. The festival being in Vale meant that there would be tons of new people from other schools, all encouraged to interact with each other. Including her.  _And I can barely get things right with my own girlfriend._

Needless to say, she was  _not_  looking forward to the next few months.

Finally, Goodwitch entered the room and coaxed the crowd to hush. "I'm sure all of you are curious as to why your class schedules have you here all day." Goodwitch began. There was a short murmur of agreement in the crowd. "With the Vytal festival coming up, the staff here at Beacon are all sure you'll be plenty busy socializing, training for the tournament, and enjoying the traditional dance."

"Dance?" Ruby muttered under her breath, unease in her voice. Blake's animal appendages stood at attention.

"In addition to all of this, you will be starting student missions next semester as well," Goodwitch announced, "and that is what today is about. You will return to your dorms, and pack as you would pack to leave the kingdom walls on assignment. In twenty minutes, we will convene on the landing pads and leave for the Emerald Forest. Once there, we will simulate a variety of possible situations you may experience on-mission. You will be graded for each one. Dismissed."

Ruby was elated. After spending all morning thinking about things she would rather avoid, now it was time to do something she was actually  _good_  at! Her sudden shift in mood was not missed by the rest of team RWBY, and they didn't need to guess why. It was arguable that she was more comfortable in the forest than in the city, given her history. Hell, for Blake there wasn't even an argument about it. She's seen Ruby in the forest, and could attest firsthand experience.

Team RWBY hurried back to their dorm, where Weiss and Yang started packing right away. Blake took her time, confident in knowing everything she needed. Ruby didn't surprise Weiss in the least, pulling out her already packed mission bag and simply double checking it. With a frown and some inaudible self-scolding, Ruby added a first aid kit before zipping the bag back up and changing into her leathers. RWBY made it to the landing pads with minutes to spare, and were soon on their way to the Emerald Forest.

* * *

The students strolled the forest in one large group, led by Goodwitch and two other instructors Ruby didn't recognize. One of the nurses from the infirmary brought up the rear. Glynda questioned the students the whole way.

"The benefit of traveling in a group is hopefully obvious," The professor stated, "Can anyone tell me the drawback to traveling in such a large group?"

"Drawback?" A student in the back was confused.

"Well, yeah," Someone else pointed out, "A larger group is more enticing for the Grimm. Especially if any of us are feeling upset or angry."

"Hey, you! Red girl!" Someone jabbed Ruby's elbow, "Is it true you used to  _live_ out here? Like, by yourself?"

"I was only alone for a few months," Ruby clarified, "And it was harder on my own than with a partner."

"What  _was_  your biggest issue being alone, if I may ask?" Glynda spoke up from the front.

"Being safe enough to catch a few hours sleep was bad," Ruby answered, "But more than that, it was just tiring. With no one to pick up my slack, I couldn't afford to be at anything but one hundred percent. People think that even with other people, you need to stay at your all. But the whole point of having a partner is to share the effort. If you can't relax, everything gets a little tougher."

"Why didn't you just live in Vale?" The nurse asked, concerned as she always was.

"Too many people," Ruby said offhandedly, "I don't know  _how_  to live in a city like I know how to live in a forest."

"Well, today should be cakewalk for you." One of the instructors joked.

"Why haven't we seen any Grimm yet?" Yang asked, "We've been out here for a while."

"Here at Beacon, we maintain a balance between providing hands-on training and a safe learning environment," Glynda answered, "Second and Third year teams cleared out this portion of the forest a few days ago, as a part of their own student missions." Goodwitch then turned to address the entire group face-to-face, "However, that does not mean there won't be any Grimm. Always stay vigilant."

Their walk was frequently interrupted by the various drills Beacon had planned for them. Things such as, 'what to do if a team mate is separated' and 'how to handle coming across an injured civilian'. Eventually the students stopped for lunch by a cliff face overlooking a massive forest canopy. Weiss stood near the edge, staring upon the scenery. Ruby didn't like the way the grass ended before the edge, and approached carefully.

"Hey, Weiss, maybe you should step back a-" The redhead then noticed the heiress's empty stare, and walked up next to her. "You okay?"

Weiss continued staring forward, but her eyes refocused, marking her attention. "How many mornings did you wake up to a view like this?"

"I'm sorry?" Ruby asked, confused.

"Living out here must have been hard," Weiss clarified, "but it must have had its perks as well. I grew up in near-isolation, in the Schnee Manor. I was being groomed to take the SDC. Being out here, like this… it puts things into perspective. What an ignorant life I lived…"

"You think I look down on those with an easy life?" Ruby deduced. "I don't. If people in the City are happy as they are, then I'm happy for them. Us, Huntsmen and Huntresses? We choose the hard life, Weiss. So that others  _can_  live easy ones."

"You are far too young to be this wise." Weiss pointed out.

"Yeah, well, wisdom isn't cheap…" Ruby lamented, "If I were never injured, I may have been the happy-go-lucky little girl people assume I am when they see me. I'd probably still be in Signal, even."

"Do you often think about what your life might have been like?" Weiss asked.

"I used to," Ruby sighed, "but dwelling on what-ifs isn't healthy. Yet another hard lesson."

Before Weiss could investigate further, the girls heard a scream from back where the rest of their class was. The sounds of swords and monsters grew quickly as the girls turned to face the class. The girls turned as saw Yang running at them. "What's going on?" Ruby asked immediately.

"Grimm. A lot of them, way more than there should be," Yang answered quickly, "Goodwitch says we need to retreat!"

"How is this happening?" Weiss asked.

"I don't know, but we need to go!" Yang shouted.

"Something had to attract them…" Ruby thought aloud.

_SCREECH!_

The noise bought the attention of the three, who looked up to see a giant Nevermore. "Ruby, Weiss, let's go!"

But the Fatal Feathers were already flying. Weiss pulled her partner close a threw up a shielding glyph, a large feather bouncing off the glowing surface. The rest of the feathers dotted the cliff-face, and one last one struck behind them. The ground beneath them shifted, and silver eyes shot wide. The edge of the cliff suddenly crumbled, and Ruby gripped Weiss tight while reaching out to catch the edge.

"RUBY!" Yang dived at the ledge, reaching out for her sister's hand. The blonde hit the ground and slid the last inch to see over the cliff. Ruby was gripping a sharp jut for dear life with her right hand, her left holding Weiss's own as the heiress dangled underneath her. Even laid down with her arm fully extended, Yang's hand was barely out of reach of Ruby's. "C'mon, sis," Yang pleaded, "get up here!"

Ruby heard the Nevermore cry. The bird was likely circling for another attack. Yang was exposed, as the redhead's athletic body couldn't lift both her  _and_  Weiss back up the ledge. Silver eyes focused on violet with determination. A determination that terrified Yang. "Ruby, no!"

"Get back to Goodwitch," Ruby told her, "Retreat with the others. I know the forest, Yang. We'll make it."

"I'm  _not_  leaving without you!" Yang shouted.

"This is an order!" Ruby shouted back, "Retreat!"

"Ruby, don't!" Yang cried.

But it was too late. Ruby let go and kicked lightly off the cliff face. The fall was short, and the redhead barely pulled Weiss into her arms and flipped them around. The leader hit the ground first, and a  _CRACK_ sounded through the air. Weiss rolled off Ruby, whose right arm was slightly bent where it shouldn't be. Even if the cliff could be climbed, it didn't seem like Ruby could climb anything anytime soon…

The nevermore cried again, and Yang held back her tears as she finally followed her leader's order and retreated. She had to believe Ruby would make it. This  _was_  her area of expertise after all… It was the only thought that kept the blonde brawler from breaking down. She dashed back towards the rest of the class. The scene was utter chaos. Grimm were everywhere, barely being held back by the four adults and the bolder of the students, while the rest were in full retreat.

Blake saw Yang get closer, and called out, "Where's Ruby!?"

"She's right behind me," Yang lied, "We gotta move!"

"I don't see her!" Blake called out.

Yang literally pushed Blake forward, trying to keep her from looking. "There are more Grimm behind her, we have to go!"

Blake turned and ran, and Yang followed after her, barely managing to keep herself together.

* * *

The mood of the very air on the ship back to Beacon seemed to be exhaustion. Students were tired, many were injured, and even Goodwitch felt the claws of the Grimm. Everyone agreed, that attack was  _not_  normal. It shouldn't have happened, and a full investigation would have to be launched. Goodwitch was determined to figure out  _why_  the Grimm were so heavy. Nothing hurt her students and got away with it.

But for now, she had to focus on helping said students recover. Blake and Yang were still trying to get their strength back after the mad dash back to the airship. Amber eyes scanned the crowd for Silver, but the emergency ship wasn't meant to take everyone back at once like this. The crowded space in the hold was definitely beyond capacity. The faunus didn't know why Ruby hadn't found her yet, and her own legs to too weak to move herself.

One of the spare instructors approached the two, clipboard in hand. "You're team RWBY, correct?"

"Yes sir," Blake nodded.

"We're doing our head count," The instructor spoke softly, "Do you know where the rest of your team are?"

"Around here somewhere," Blake answered, "They were right behind us." The faunus looked to Yang for confirmation, and was surprised to see the blonde sobbing. "Right…?"

"I'm sorry…" Yang softly cried.

"Yang, where is Ruby…?" Blake asked, fear in her voice.

Yang took another long  _sniff_  before looking up to the instructor. "I ran to find Ruby and Weiss when the attack started. A Nevermore attacked and they… fell over the edge of a cliff…"

"Yang…" Blake's eyes were wide. She didn't want to believe.

"Ruby was hanging on by her fingertips…" Yang continued, "and she told me to retreat…"

"And you listened to her!?" Blake accused.

"I didn't want to!" Yang shouted back, "but she let go!" The blonde turned back to the instructor, "They survived the fall, but couldn't climb back up. I couldn't help them…"

"They survived the fall?" The instructor double checked. "If even half the stories about Ms. Rose are true, I'm sure she'll live. Once we return to Beacon, the missing will become our top priority. I promise."

"Why didn't you tell me…" Blake asked quietly after the instructor walked away.

"Because I knew you wouldn't leave if you thought Ruby was in danger…" Yang answered, "There wasn't anything we could have done. We have to believe that Ruby can make it. The forest is basically her home…"

Blake was quiet for a good minute. Then, she smiled. "I know Ruby will make it," she stated confidently, "and she'll bring Weiss back, too."

Her confidence made Yang smile as well. "Yeah?"

"Has she told you how we first met?" Blake asked, "She saved my life."

"Really?" Yang looked up, "How?"

"Well, I was on the run from…" Blake shifted uncomfortably, "some very dangerous people I managed to cross…"

* * *

One Year Ago

Blake had already pushed herself well beyond her limits, but she kept running. She had to. Her feet hit the ground hard and she tried to maneuver the trees of the Emerald Forest. Her breath came heavy and short as her lungs burned and her muscles ached, but still she ran. Until she tripped over a taller root and tumbled onto her back. It was easier to move when she was already moving, but now she couldn't summon the strength to twitch. Two shadows came to her and stood over her. Blake looked up at them, two members of the now-notorious group, the White Fang.

"Here you are…" The first Fang member spoke.

"Traitor…" The second added.

"You are worse than a human," The first picked back up, "you turned your back on your own kind."

"You don't represent us all!" Blake cried back, "The White Fang has been corrupted!"

"Silence, traitor!" The second shot. He raised his axe, and Blake knew she had no strength to avoid the blow. The axe came down, Blake shut her eyes, and she thought she even felt the push of air form the weapon. But the blow never came... even stranger, she swore she could smell roses?

Blake opened her eyes and couldn't believe what she saw. A figure in deep red leather stood over her, left hand gripping the sword handle tight, and the right was supporting the still-sheathed blade near where the weapon had met the axe. The raised hood hid any hint of their identity, and the bow across her back foretold archery skills.

The red leather figure pushed the axe away to the right. The blade came unsheathed in an upward swing that met the wooden axe handle and severed the head from the rest of the weapon. The sheath was brought left and right across the axe man's face, before the blade came across his chest and made him stagger.

With no weapon, the second man jumped back as the first stepped forward, drawing his pike. The red leather figure didn't attack, instead dodging the pike's attacks with graceful rolls and flips, making Blake wonder if her savior was female… The mystery fighter moved carefully, and managed to get the pike wielder to stab his weapon into a tree, and the leather warrior kicked the second faunus away from his weapon.

Both men were effectively disarmed, and the leather warrior flourished their sword and sheath, making it clear they had the upper hand. The two White Fang members ran, promising revenge against the fighter. The red figure finally turned to face Blake, and the ex-Fang member saw it was indeed a woman, or more accurately, a girl. A girl that seemed a few years  _younger_  than her.

"Are you okay?" The girl asked her.

Blake was still coming to terms with everything that had just happened, and didn't answer right away. "Um… Just exhausted…"

The leather-clad girl took note of the sword on Blake's back. "Why didn't you fight back?"

"I tried to…" Blake explained through heavy breaths, "The group was larger when they caught up with me… A few fell behind while I ran… they might be here soon…"

"Then we better get moving." The young warrior nodded. Before Blake could protest, the figure took her arm and pulled her over their shoulder. She began running, taking twists and turns through the forest that Blake couldn't track. She couldn't find her way back to where she fell if she wanted too, and hopefully that meant it would be harder for the White Fang to find them.

"We should okay here…" The figure set her down after a few minutes of running, "Catch your breath."

"Why are you helping me?" Blake asked.

"Because you needed help." The figure answered calmly, looking past the nearby foliage. "I think we got away."

"Thank you." Blake stood slowly, and turned to leave.

"Where are you going?" Leather Girl asked, sitting on a nearby stump.

Blake opened her mouth to answer, but found she had none.

"There are two directions you could head," The girl explained, "There's a village about a week away, but it's under the control of those Grimm-Masked bandits. Then there's Vale, three weeks in the opposite direction. And you were about to head towards  _neither_  of them."

"The White Fang captured a whole  _village_?" Blake whispered to herself.

"White Fang?" Leather Girl apparently heard her, "I thought they were peaceful?"

"They used to be…" Blake answered.

Leather Girl was quiet for a moment. "They called you traitor." She eventually pointed out.

Blake whipped around with fear in her eyes. She was almost surprised that the warrior girl hadn't drawn her weapon on her. The girl hadn't even stood from her seat.  _She just wants an answer…_ "Some still believe in peace," Blake defended quickly, "and others don't like that."

The girl nodded. She finally stood and looked over the faunus. "You don't know the forest, do you?"

"Just tell me the way to Vale." Blake asked.

"Not just direction," The girl clarified, "Your clothes look like they're meant to be form-fitting, not loose like they are now. Your skin is a little off-color, and your eyes are dark, so you've managed to poison yourself to boot," Leather Girl stepped closer, taking a good look into Blake's eyes, "Nothing lethal, or you'd be dead already… just some rotten berries, I bet."

"What's your point?" Blake asked, pushing away.

"You won't survive the three weeks into Vale on your own," The girl obliged, "I'm heading there as well. We can part ways once we get to the city, but I won't leave you out here to die."

Blake thought carefully about this move. "You don't mind being in the company of an ex-White Fang faunus?"

"Are you afraid one of us will kill the other in our sleep?" The girl accused. "If I wanted you dead, I didn't have to save you, or offer to escort you."

"And if I want to kill you?" Blake asked.

"I sleep light. Try it." The girl smirked.

Blake's brow furrowed. The pros definitely outweighed the cons, not to mention Blake's stomach warning her that the girl was likely correct about those 'rotten berries'. "All right," the faunus nodded, "Thank you. My name is Blake Belladonna." She held out her hand.

"Ruby Rose." The leather-clad girl nodded, pulling her bow off her back. "We should find you a decent meal."

Blake didn't know whether Ruby ignored her hand on purpose or if she was just bad with people. Her delivery in conversation was certainly rough around the edges, but she obviously wanted to help.  _Maybe she doesn't interact with many people… I mean, why was she alone in the forest to begin with? Does she live out here alone? She didn't know about the White Fang's corruption in Sanus…_

"Come on, Blake." Ruby called from ahead.

"R-right." Blake nodded, trotting after her mysterious savior.


	16. Chapter 16

One Year Ago

The days had passed quickly since Blake was saved by the mysterious woods woman. The time the faunus spent with Ruby was mostly silent, and she still knew very little about the girl. Though she didn't expect to ever see the girl after they finally reached Vale, the more time she spent with her, the more she wanted to know.

There were little things Blake  _could_  figure out. Ruby owned a few books and she read ten-to-twenty pages before she went to sleep each night. Most of them were fiction, but one or two seemed more practical. Those were the nights she read twenty-five pages. Blake could only guess her age, but she seemed a few years her junior. Despite that, she fought and thought like someone several years her senior.

Blake also knew Ruby was in pain. She took some kind of injection almost every day, at the call of some high-tech bracelet. Blake couldn't figure out any concrete schedule to it. On top of that, Blake also saw Ruby in a more emotional pain. During moments when the redhead thought the faunus wasn't looking, the mask would break. She didn't know what happened to the young girl, but it only made Blake want to stay more.

They had to be close to Vale, as the three weeks Ruby initially theorized was coming to a close. They set up for camp once again, and Blake finally worked up the courage to speak to her enigmatic companion.

"Hey, Ruby?" The faunus spoke up.

"Yeah?" The redhead responded, not looking up from her book.

"How did you end up out here?" Blake asked.

"I live out here." Ruby answered.

"In the woods?" Blake responded in disbelief.

"Yup." Ruby nodded.

"For how long?" Blake continued questioning.

Ruby counted quickly in her head. "Five years."

"Alone?"

Ruby didn't answer right away. One of her hands went to her weapon, caressing the all metal sheath. She shook her head, and went back to her book. "Look, Blake, I'm not big on… talking and stuff… I'm just gunna keep reading."

Blake sighed. She looked back up to the spine of the book with a curious eye. "What's it called?"

"Excuse me?" Ruby looked away from her book for the first time.

"Your book? Does it have a name?" Blake clarified.

Ruby gave a few empty blinks. "It's about a man with two souls… each fighting for control of his body."

"Sounds interesting… I used to read a lot too, but I had to leave my collection behind…" Blake told her.

"I have a few in my bag, if you want to borrow one," Ruby offered, "Well, tomorrow night. It's about time to start rotating sleep for tonight."

"Right," Blake nodded, "Thank you."

Ruby's bracelet went off again, and she set up her shot. When she opened her pouch with the actual medicine vials, Blake noticed her frown. "Is everything all right?"

Ruby sighed. She didn't want to talk about this with someone she didn't even know. "I'm fine."

"What's that for?" Blake nodded toward the medicine.

"It's nothing, I'm fine," Ruby repeated with finality in her voice. "Go to sleep. I'll take first watch."

* * *

Ruby seemed to be in a hurry. As Blake followed the girl to Vale, she noticed they were moving faster and for longer periods of time. The past few nights Ruby even gave up her reading time, moving forward until they had to start sleeping-shifts. They had to be nearing the walls of Vale at the rate they were moving.

Blake managed to admire the scenery as they made their way through the trees. The way the light cut through at the early hours of the morning, making the golden beams… it was like a scene right out of one of her books. The alarm from Ruby's bracelet broke the faunus from her thoughts. Blake watched as she pulled out another vial and stared at it.

"Everything okay?" Blake asked.

"I told you, I'm fine." Ruby responded, following through with her injection.

"I'm not stupid, Ruby." Blake crossed her arms. "It might help to tell me what's going on."

"We're only a day or two out from Vale," Ruby rebuffed, "I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?" Blake pressed.

"Let's just move." Ruby deadpanned, walking as fast as she could while keeping it a walk.

The stars had completely risen before Ruby stopped to sleep that night, and the pair started early the next morning. Blake could barely keep up Ruby's walking speed. As the walls of Vale remained out of sight, Ruby only seemed to get faster, until the point where her bracelet went off one more time. Ruby came to a sudden halt, staring at her alarm. She took a deep breath before shutting it off.

"Your medicine," Blake deducted, "You're out."

Ruby was silent for a long time. "Yes," She finally admitted.

"What's going to happen?" Blake asked.

Ruby seemed reluctant to answer, but at this point she had no choice. "My heart was pierced when I was young. A Dust infusion kept it together, but required near-daily medicine to keep the Dust charged."

"And when the Dust wears out?" Blake continued.

"A heart attack," Ruby replied, "A doctor about a year ago took a look. Over the years, my heart has actually healed, but the scar tissue is weak. A strong enough heart attack will tear it right back open."

Blake noted Ruby's voice strained at the end of that sentence, and her hand went to her chest.

"Ruby?" Blake reached for her.

"If the attack is weak…" Ruby strained, "And I use enough of my aura, I can survive one or two… but I need my… My…" The redhead grabbed her chest and fell to one knee.

Blake rushed to the redhead's side as she fell over. Ruby's breaths came short and fast, and the woman strained her aura against her own heart. The woman shuddered, and then fell still.

Blake held her breath, waiting for a sign that Ruby survived. The leather-clad chest rose, and the faunus breathed a sigh of relief. Ruby survived, but she was unconscious. Blake knew she had to take her to safety, and picked her up. She continued walking the direction to Vale until she came across a rather secure looking cave, and ducked inside.

* * *

Ruby woke up to a familiar looking cave. Slowly, she rose to a sitting position and looked around to confirm her suspicions. The desk in the corner where she used to read and work. The fire pit in the center, dead from months of disuse. The books kept safe at the far end, dusty and worn. Silver eyes passed up to the outcropping where Master Miizu used to sit and read, and she found Blake perched there and waiting.

"You're okay." Blake smiled.

"For now…" Ruby nodded. "We're still thirty-two hours out from Vale."

"That's very specific." Blake raised an eyebrow.

"I know exactly where we are," Ruby told her, "This is our…  _my_ , cave."

"Can we get to Vale?" Blake asked.

"If I can get through today without an attack." Ruby told her.

Blake sighed and thought for a moment. "I can get to Vale today."

"Excuse me?" Ruby asked.

"You rest, in here," Blake clarified, "I can be in Vale before sundown, I can move really fast on my own. I'll get your medicine and be back."

Ruby considered her options, and found herself without much choice… "King's Way. That's the street where my pharmacy is. Take this note," she fished her five-year-old prescription note out of her bag, "and he should give you what I need."

"Got it," Blake nodded, taking the note, "I'll be back before you know it."

* * *

The next time Ruby woke up, Blake was back in the cave with a small bag of vials. The pharmacist wouldn't give Blake the usual bulk amount he gave Ruby, so they had to finish their jaunt into Vale to Ruby could properly stock up. As the girls left for the city, Blake began to properly think about her future. When they finally reached the gates to Vale, Ruby turned to Blake.

"Well, I guess we're done." Ruby told her.

"Maybe…" Blake considered.

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked.

"It's not easy living out there on your own, is it?" Blake pointed out.

"I don't-" Ruby stopped herself, thinking to the past few days and the lessons from Master Miizu.  _Sigh,_ "Yeah, it is harder."

Blake nodded, "Heading to Vale wasn't really my goal. Just  _having_  goal, some reason to move forward… I don't know what I want right now. I know I want to help people. Fight for faunus rights honorably, but i don't know how just yet. Maybe in a few months I can join Beacon, but until then… I think… I want to stick with you. We can survive and help people together."

"Are you sure? Just because I know how to do it, doesn't mean it will be easy." Ruby warned.

"I know," Blake nodded, "But it will be easier together."

Ruby weighed the pros and cons. She didn't really feel like having a companion right now, not since...  _Still, it would be easier to have someone else watch my back. Besides, what will she do if i say no? And the White Fang? She can pull her weight, and stay safe with me. Master Miizu wold probably tell me to help any way_   _I_ _can..._

"Alright, Blake," Ruby nodded, "I just need to stock my meds, and then… we'll figure the rest out as we go."

"Thank you." Blake smiled.

* * *

Present Day

The memory faded from Ruby's dreams. Her senses slowly started to survey the waking world. She was moving, but her body was still. She was suspended, but by what? She didn't feel like she was lying on anything. Finally, she managed to open her eyes. She was surrounded by one of Weiss's black glyphs, with the woman herself standing above her.

"Ruby! You're awake!" Weiss declared.

"Let me down." Ruby ordered.

Once Ruby was on her feet, the first thing she checked was her arm. The shock and pain of the break was what put her down to begin with. Her upper arm was still bent at an off angle. She looked back up at Weiss, completely unamused. "Did you do anything?"

"Our first aid kits were with the rest of the class." Weiss told her.

"I see…" Ruby sighed. "Can you knock one of those thicker branches down?" The redhead peeled off her jacket slowly, thinking aloud. "Crapcrapcrapcrap… Bruising really bad… I need to get back to Beacon… the med wing…"

Weiss collected a decent branch for making a splint, which is what she assumed this was for. She watched Ruby feel the break in her arm. "What are you going to- OH MY GOD WHY!" Weiss's eyes went wide in surprise as Ruby slammed her arm into a nearby tree and screamed.

"Straighten the bone," Ruby answered in pained breath. Her arm was straight, but the bruising seemed a little worse now. "Weiss, can you tear pieces off my skirt for binding?"

"Sure," Weiss nodded. She carefully tore off thin sections to imitate bandages and tied the splint to her partner's arm. She also set her up with a makeshift sling.

"Thank you." Ruby nodded.  _With my arm handled for now, we can deal with getting back…_  "Where are we?"

"A few miles east of where we fell," Weiss answered, "You were only out for about an hour and a half."

"You're sure?" Ruby asked.

"Absolutely," Weiss set her hands on her hips sassily, "I  _have_  learned a thing or two in the past few months."

"Good," Ruby nodded, "We moved west a while a few hours back, in the field trip. We should still be north of Vale." The girls set off with Ruby in the lead. Ruby wasn't too keen on fighting Grimm in her current condition, and worked her way around Grimm packs.

"Do you think they'll send a rescue team?" Weiss asked.

"Most likely," Ruby nodded, "But we're a few hours out from Vale. We should be able to make it back before dark."

"Why not wait?" Weiss asked.

"Because I need medical attention," Ruby gestured to her broken arm, "We'll get back faster than they will find us sitting still."

The heiress's eyes lingered on the sling. Something had been bothering her ever since the fall. Now that Ruby was awake, she could finally ask, "Why did you take the hit?"

"What hit?" Ruby asked.

"From the fall," Weiss clarified, "Why did you take the hit?"

"You're my team," Ruby told her, "As leader it's my job to keep you safe."

Weiss frowned. "I don't buy it."

"Sorry?"

"We both know I wear my aura thicker than I probably should," Weiss explained, "If it were the other way around, and  _you_ landed on  _me_ , I might not have broken a bone. Aura comes back way faster than that arm will heal. You'll be out of physical activity for the rest of the semester."

"It all happened too fast for me to think like that." Ruby told her.

"No," Weiss shook her head, "if  _I_ figured that out before we fell, there's no way you didn't. We all know this is where you excel."

"What is your point, Weiss?" Ruby was started to not like this conversation.

"That I don't see the point," Weiss answered, "I have no idea why you took the hit, I would have been the better choice."

"Everyone can make mistakes, Weiss. Let's just get back to Beacon." Ruby shut down the conversation.

Weiss sighed. Every time she thought she had the strange redhead figured out, something would happen that made her question everything. She couldn't think of any logical reason why Ruby took that fall. A Hero Complex?

Weiss decided to test, "Whatever the reason, thank you for saving me."

"It's my job, Weiss," Ruby shook her head, "I told you already."

 _Rejecting praise for her actions… Not a Hero Complex._  Weiss didn't have enough information for a definitive conclusion, just a few ideas. But she resolved herself to finally unlocking the secrets of her leader and maybe-friend. Her contemplations were cut short when Ruby suddenly stopped, Weiss nearly running into her.

Ruby was staring at the ground. It looked as though some thick spike had punctured about a foot into the ground. Silver eyes panned the area, and saw other similar marks, seemingly leading either towards or away from Vale, it was hard to tell which.

Weiss watched Ruby's eye unfocus, taken by her thoughts. "Ruby?" The heiress nudged her leader, bringing her back.

"The Grimm attack," Ruby thought aloud, "Do you know if anyone had any intense negative emotions?"

"I don't know." Weiss answered.

"Something had to draw  _that_  many Grimm," Ruby thought, "The area was cleared out just a few days ago."

Weiss looked at the ground, inspecting the small hole for herself. It was clearly what made Ruby think about the attack. "What does _this_  have to do with it?"

"Nothing, I hope…" Ruby answered cryptically.


	17. Chapter 17

As soon as Beacon let her, Blake headed straight for one of the northern gates into Vale. Up on top of the wall, Blake hung out with the guards while she waited. Eventually, Yang found her way up there as well.

"Heya, partner," Yang called out.

"Yang," Blake nodded.

"Whatcha doin' up here?" Yang asked, leaning on the railing overlooking the Emerald Forest.

"Waiting for Ruby," Blake answered, "This gate is closest to where she fell, and also the closest to Beacon."

"So this is the one she'll use," Yang nodded, "If she doesn't just wait for the rescue teams."

"She won't," Blake smiled, "She knows this forest like the back of her hand. I wager she'll be back before dusk."

"And so, you wait." Yang smiled.

The pair sat in silence for a few more minutes before Yang spoke up again, "You ever hear of a Widow's Walk?"

"A high walkway where a sailor's wife would watch for her missing spouse in vain?" Blake answered. "You know, there's no real evidence that's what they were for. Wealthy captains had such structures, not just for watching ships. It's just a fancy balcony."

"Wow, nerd," Yang teased.

"I read," Blake shrugged, "I'm surprised  _you_  know what a Widow's Walk is."

"I used to read…" Yang replied quietly, "before boys…"

"Oh, an innocent Yang…" Blake jokingly lamented. "Nope. Can't picture it."

"Rude."

"At least I tried." Blake smirked.

The shared a short chuckle. Another period of silence passed before Blake smiled wide. "There's still one big difference between myself and your widows of 'The Walk'."

"And what's that?" Yang asked.

"I'm not becoming one just yet." The faunus replied as she climbed over the railing and jumped down outside the walls.

Yang refocused her eyes on the path leading to the gate. She could make out two figures, but she couldn't figure out if it was Ruby and Weiss. Blake's faunus eyes were much sharper than the blonde's own, and could define the two figures. Ruby walking alongside Weiss, the heiress carrying the redheads jacket and hood.

"Ruby! You made it!" Blake ran up to her girlfriend and embraced her, Weiss standing awkwardly to the side.

"Didn't think I'd make it back?" Ruby teased, returning the hug with her working arm.

"I always knew." Blake assured before pulling away, and finally seeing Ruby's arm. "What happened?"

"Just a fall." Ruby told her.

"'Just a fall'?" Blake narrowed her eyes, "Your arm's in terrible condition! What stupid thing did you pull this time?"

"Nothing! I'm fine," Ruby told her. "but… I do need to get to the med bay."

* * *

Before long Ruby was being examined by the Beacon medical staff. Weiss, Blake, and Yang all waited nearby while the doctor performed his examination. Blake didn't quite trust Ruby's words about her arm, and Weiss could see it. With her own fresh questions regarding her leader, she decided to approach Blake. "Hey, Blake."

"Hey, Weiss," Blake sighed, "I'm sorry I haven't asked you how you're doing. I've been kinda focused on Ruby."

"I understand," Weiss assured.

"She did tell me she might not have made it without you," The faunus smiled.

"Really?" Weiss questioned.

"She said you kept you both moving while she was passed out after the fall," Blake answered, "keeping ahead of any potential Grimm."

"I guess…" Weiss didn't think Ruby would give her any praise for that, even behind her back. It felt… strange. "I wanted to ask you something."

"What is it?" Blake turned her full attention to her team mate.

"Back at the gate… You asked Ruby if she had done something stupid," Weiss explained, "You made it sound like she had done things like that in the past?"

"How  _did_  she break her arm?" Blake asked.

"It was the fall," Weiss confirmed, "But she grabbed me and hit the ground first, letting me cushion my fall on her."

"She did… that doesn't sound so-" Blake's ears shot up halfway through her statement, "Wait, you wear your aura thick."

"Yes?"

"Why wasn't it the other way around?" Blake wondered, "She should have landed on you. It makes more sense, you-"

"Might not have broken a bone," Weiss finished, "I asked her the same thing. She explained things! I think…"

Blake crossed her arms, her frown growing. "I bet she did…"

Yang noted Weiss's and Blake's mood. "Come one, it's not like Ruby would take an injury on purpose?"

"It wouldn't be the first time…" Blake confessed. "Not that she has ever actually admitted it, but I'm not stupid."

"What happened?" Weiss asked.

"She pushed a huntsman we were helping out of the way of a Beowolf's claw, taking three gashes to her back," Blake explained, "Another time she kept giving up her food to someone we were helping across Sanus. I didn't even know until Ruby was weak with starvation during a fight. She never told me we were low on food to begin with. At first, I accepted her explanations. But the more she got hurt, the harder it they were to believe."

"She doesn't look for praise," Weiss pointed out, "There must be  _some_  reason she does this?"

"I wouldn't know," Blake sighed, "She still hasn't opened up to me."

"So what do we do?" Yang asked, "Do we confront her?"

Just a moment after Yang's question, Ruby entered the waiting area. Her am was in a normal sling now, and adorned with what looked like a carbon fiber shoulder plate and rerebrace, with tech-y looking blue lines inlaid.

"What's that about?" Yang asked, pointing at the device.

"It's my splint," Ruby told her, "With freeze dust set to a timer, icing my arm for me. All I have to do is wait for my arm to heal."

"For how long?" Weiss questioned.

"You were right," Ruby nodded, "I'm out of combat for the rest of the semester. I should be good to go by the time classes start again after, though."

Blake stared at her girlfriend's broken arm. The previous conversation had reminded her that she still didn't know some things about Ruby. As much as she was learning about her life before Master Miizu's apparent death, she still had no idea how Master Miizu died. Anything Ruby did tell her about her Master were self-contained stories, and difficult for Blake to place on a timeline.

Ruby noted Blake's changing mood. "Are you okay?"

Blake didn't want to cause any issues and push Ruby away… but she was tired of their romantic stalemate as well. "Ruby… Why did you take the hit?"

Ruby was dumbfounded, and didn't respond immediately. "The fall wasn't that high, I didn't think about it."

"You know how Weiss wears her aura," Yang argued, getting confused by everything going on, "And you could have even flared yours."

"It happened fast!" Ruby rebutted.

"Nothing happens  _that_  fast for you." Weiss pointed out, deciding to help finally try to squeeze some answers out of their young leader.

"Everybody thinks I'm this amazing fighter, but I do. Make. Mistakes." Ruby scolded.

"I've seen you make mistakes," Blake crossed her arms, "And I've seen you make  _stupid_  mistakes. Mistakes I know you could have avoided."

"Why am I getting interrogated all of a sudden!?" Ruby's voice rose.

"Because we're tired of not knowing!" Yang shouted in return, "Why would you let yourself be injured!?"

Blake started to regret coming at Ruby as a group. A shouting match was not what she hoped to accomplish.

"I didn't let myself be injured!" Ruby yelled.

"Bull!" Yang countered.

"WELL MAYBE I DESERVE IT!" Ruby screamed, "Have you ever considered  _that_!?"

The room was silent. Ruby's eyes betrayed the fact that she instantly regretted her confession.

"What do you mean, 'deserve it'?" Blake asked.

"Nothing," Ruby quickly backpedaled, "That doesn't mean anything."

"Ruby…"

"I'm going to the library." Ruby turned down the hallway and walked as fast as she could. Blake stalled for a few seconds before following her.

Ruby stomped through the halls, trying desperately to push down the memories threatening to surface. She could only press on so far, stopping and steadying herself against the wall.

_Help! Somebody help us!_

_Hey! Here! Run towards me, I've… Got… you…_

The memories rushed in, and Ruby could hear the pleas. She could hear the inhuman growl, and the all too human screams that followed. Her good hand left the wall it was leaning against and balled up, before sending itself through the plaster.

After a deep breath, the redhead pulled her shaking hand back out of the fresh hole and examined the knuckles. One long gash crossed her index and middle knuckle. Ruby clenches her fist one more time to steady her hand, before finishing her route to the library at a much more controlled pace.

The young girl had promised herself a long time ago, that no one around her would be hurt again. Not if she could do anything about it. And should she take a few breaks and bruises in the process, all the better. She knew the others wouldn't understand. That they would tell her things weren't her fault. But they couldn't know.  _They_  weren't there, on the worst day of her life. The day she failed.

Blake came around the corner just in time to see Ruby put the hole in the wall. She peered from around the corner, watching her girlfriend slowly regain her control. They got close to something, closer than ever… but the faunus wasn't so sure it would be worth the price.

Blake made it to the library herself, and caught Ruby in the corner with a book in her good hand. "What?" Ruby called out to her indifferently.

"I'm sorry things got out of hand," Blake offered, "I didn't want it to get that far."

"How else could it have gone?" Ruby asked her, knowing the answer already.

Blake took time to find her next words. "I just wish you would open up," she settled on, "we all do. It's obvious there's  _something_  going in your head. And we want to help."

Ruby didn't answer, though her expression turned somber. Blake couldn't think of anything else to say or do, and left the library. Ruby was once again alone with her thoughts.

* * *

For the duration of her injury, Ruby's combat classes were substituted with free periods. For the first few days Ruby studied as was expected of a 'free period'. But she already had a good routine and found the extra studying unnecessary. She soon took to doing other things with her free period, such as catching up on sleep, reading, or like today, taking a walk around campus.

Since she couldn't really slip her jacket over her right arm, it hung off her shoulders as she walked so she could use the hood. She found it helped shut out the world around her, which allowed her to focus on her thoughts. The events of a few days ago put a noticeable strain on her relationship. She didn't know what to do… She didn't want to talk about that part of her past, couldn't they see that? She didn't want to lose Blake, but why couldn't they be as they were? Was there really a problem with their current relationship?

 _People are so complicated,_  Ruby realized for the hundredth time today. She soon felt a presence behind her that would only further prove her thought. She turned to face her new companion, and immediately frowned. "What are you doing here?"

Taiyang stepped back a little at Ruby's hostility. "I heard what happened at the mission prep class. I just wanted to check on my girls."

"You only have one 'girl'." Ruby scolded.

Taiyang sighed, his posture falling. "I don't want to fight."

"You don't have the power to take me out of Beacon," Ruby reminded him, "We have nothing to talk about. If you don't want a fight, you should just leave."

"Ruby, please," Taiyang pleaded, "I'm sorry."

"Excuse me?" Ruby did a double take.

"I've spoken to the teachers," he explained, "they have nothing but praise. And Yang is now telling me that you belong at Beacon. I can't take you away from here, and while I still think this is a mistake…"  _Sigh_ , "I don't want to lose you. Will you consider, after the school year is over… coming home for break?"

Ruby responded with a cold glare. "You don't really think that a few words of apology would make me  _forgive_  you?"

"Ruby…"

"No," Ruby interrupted, "Yang was young, and she trusted you. I get that. And I know what you threatened Qrow with to get him to back off. But it was all you. You held me  _prisoner._ "

"You weren't a prisoner!" Taiyang argued.

"I sure as hell felt like one!" Ruby shouted, "That Fatal Feather may have hurt me, but  _you_  were the one that handicapped me. For five  _years_. And that's not something that I'll just forgive and forget."

The redhead walked away from Taiayng, half expecting him to follow her. When he didn't, and she was alone with her thoughts once again, she couldn't help but wonder if he was sincere.  _Even if he is, could I forgive him? Could I go back to that house?_  It was just one more thing she didn't know. She was starting to regret coming to Beacon, and yearned for the long hours in the Emerald Forest. Everything that happened since coming here had gotten so far out of hand.

 _People are so complicated,_ Ruby realized once again.


	18. Chapter 18

Ruby woke up first as she always had, getting up slowly as to not disturb Blake. The rest of the team ran through their routines as Ruby made tea and looked over the schedule book. Team RWBY was two weeks into their second semester and things were not letting up anytime soon. It seemed that they would only get busier leading up to the highlight of the entire first year, the first student missions.

"What's the book say?" Yang asked, watching Blake get her tea and relax a little before classes.

"Our usual Monday schedule," Ruby told her, "Nothing much out of the ordinary until the festival activities next week."

"Team CFVY got out of those…" Yang grumbled, not liking the thought of giving up her free time to show visiting students around.

"They also volunteered to set up the entire Vytal Ball." Weiss reminded the blonde. "Plenty time consuming."

Yang shrugged, "Yeah, but  _that_ could be fun."

"We should be on our way," Ruby announced, clipping Gilded Thorn to her belt.

Yang watched her leader go with a frown, glancing Blake's way to see the faunus's longing stare. Soon enough, Blake followed to breakfast, though Yang and Weiss hung back. "Things aren't getting better again," Yang spoke up.

"They haven't had a proper conversation since we jumped Ruby outside the med-wing," Weiss agreed, "but… what can  _we_  do?"

"I don't know…" Yang sighed.

"I mean… they're not getting  _worse…_ " Weiss suggested.

"Not good enough," Yang shook her head, "things will fall apart eventually unless something changes."

Weiss only sighed in reply.

"Maybe we can trick them to dinner?" Yang thought, "You invite Ruby, I invite Blake, then neither of us show up so it's just them?"

"Maybe you could get Blake to a friendly dinner somewhere, but Ruby doesn't like going out at the best of times," Weiss pointed out, "We need to get going before we're late."

"Right…" Yang nodded in defeat.

* * *

A few days later Yang was tapping her foot in Goodwitch's class, waiting for the period to end. Lilac eyes were glued to the clock, watching every excruciatingly long second tick away. The bell finally rang, and the blonde was ready for a hardcore nap before showing new students around later. She paused when she spotted Goodwitch out of the corner of her eye, frowning at her scroll.  _Well, I do need a better grade… maybe I can be friendly to the prof?_

"What's up, professor?" Yang asked.

"Ms. Xiao Long?" Glynda looked up in surprise, "It's nothing you need to bother yourself with."

"You sure I can't help?" Yang tried to put on a friendly smile.

Glynda glared up at Yang before sighing, "Team CFVY is supposed to start planning the dance soon, but they took a second year mission even though I warned them not to. And based on this report they sent, they may be gone longer than anticipated."

Yang suppressed her excitement. "Team RWBY could take over?" She tried to suggest casually.

"What makes you qualified?" Goodwitch asked.

"I have excellent social skills, and a decent sense of fashion." Yang offered.

"For a teenager." Glynda pointed out.

"And the dance is for students! It's perfect!" Yang countered, "Plus we got Weiss! You need look no further for elegance."

The professor sighed, not sure of her answer.

"And first year missions don't start until  _after_  the dance," Yang reminded her, "you won't lose us."

Glynda shook her head, but gave in. She didn't exactly have all the time in the world to find replacement organizers, and volunteers were few and far between. "We don't usually allow first year teams to work the Vytal Ball… however, you have good points. But, if it's a disaster, it's on your head."

"Got it!" Yang smiled a mile wide, "We won't let you down!"

"You'll want to begin as soon as possible," Glynda told her, "RWBY is now exempt from the other Vytal activities, including the one for this afternoon. I'll find another team to take over."

Yang was practically skipping as she rushed back to the dorm. Not only did she get out of that boring chauffer work, but she also had the perfect situation to get Ruby and Blake together! If she could get both Ruby and Blake to the dance, then she had Weiss could tailor the event for them to get them to dance together! The perfect romantic setting to kick start their relationship's recovery.

Yang came through the door to RWBY dorm in time to see Ruby close her scroll. "Speak of the devil," The redhead joked, "Professor Goodwitch messaged me saying we're no longer escorting team SSSN around campus this afternoon. She said you would know about that?"

"Yeah…" Yang nodded, "Weiss and I are setting up the dance."

"Team CFVY fell through?" Ruby asked, surprised.

"Their mission is taking a while." Yang smiled, "Don't worry, we got this!"

"Alright…" Ruby sighed, "well, I'm going to hop in the shower, then."

Yang noted Blake wasn't in there, just her and Weiss. They waited until they heard the shower start before talking.

"You didn't ask me if I wanted to do the dance," Weiss narrowed her eyes, "Is this about  _them_?"

"Bear with me a moment…" Yang sat down across from the heiress, "We can build the dance for them, and we can convince them to go. When they're there together, all pretty and stuff, they can dance together, and it'll be all sweet and romantic."

"We can't build the dance around them getting together." Weiss shook her head.

"Why?" Yang asked.

"It's an incredible misuse of responsibility," Weiss scolded, "We cannot tailor the entire event around getting them back together, it would ruin the Ball for everyone else."

Yang rubbed the back of her head, "Even if I didn't care about that… It would get us in a lot of trouble, huh?"

"It would." Weiss confirmed. "But we don't need to tailor the entire dance to do the other stuff. I don't know if I could convince Ruby to go, but I might be able to handle Blake."

"You get Blake to go, and go dress shopping together," Yang nodded, "And I'll figure out how to get Ruby to do the same with me."

"Teenagers…" Weiss shook her head, "why can't they figure this stuff out themselves?"

"You're a teenager too, Weiss." Yang reminded her.

"Whatever…" The heiress brushed off the comment, "You do realize we are going to have to plan the dance still, and work on the stubborn fools whenever we have time between?"

"I know," Yang sighed, "Glynda sent a list to my scroll, and we might as well get started."

* * *

_A few days later Ava found a note in her room. Recognizing Leo's handwriting, Ava frowned. She considered not opening it, but curiosity overwhelmed her. She may be mad at him right now, but she still loved him… She picked up the note and read over it. "He wants me to meet him at the Gazebo?" Romantic gestures weren't really Leo's forte, but there was a first for everything._

Blake smiled. With all going on, it was nice to have something consistent and familiar. So, a few days ago, she dusted off her favorite book and retreated to the library. Every day she returned to read more, and had finally reached her favorite part of the whole book.

_Ava almost managed to convince herself to stay in her room. Almost. She was pulled out of bed, as if by some unseen force, and found herself wandering the grounds until she found the gazebo in question. Arriving at sunset, the place seemed strangely lit. When she got closer, she found white candles littering the place._

Blake closed her eyes, building the picture in her head. The faunus liked to imagine a song playing in the background of the scene, 'Home'. It fit the scene perfectly, and she would make it happen if she were in charge of the movie adaptation. Blake's smile grew a little larger, and she returned to her novel.

_There were three steps leading up into the gazebo. Each step had a candle on each edge. The second step held the single black candle on the left side. Ava would later discover the black candle was there because Leo ran out of white candles. Ava stepped into the gazebo, and saw Leo standing with his back to her. He turned slowly, looking at Ava with eyes full of apology._

"Hey, Blake"  _Leo reached his hand out towa-_

…

 _Wait, that's not right…_  Blake furrowed her brow.

"Blake?" Weiss spoke again, making the faunus look up from her book.

"Oh… sorry… hey Weiss." Blake responded.

"How are you?" Weiss asked.

"Been better," Blake responded.

"Want to talk about it?" Weiss sat down next to her.

"I'm not the one with the problem," Blake told her, "It's someone else who needs to talk to me."

 _That is a step in the very wrong direction…_  Weiss nearly cringed. "So… about the dance…"

"Ummm…" Blake looked up from her book, very confused, "You're not asking me?"

"What! No! Not to the dance…" Weiss backpedaled quickly, "I wanted to know if you wanted to go dress shopping with me."

"You want to be seen dress shopping with a faunus?" Blake reminded the heiress of the feline's heritage.

"I don't have a problem with you," Weiss responded, slightly hurt.

"But the media might," Blake pointed out, "You think your dad will like seeing that?"

"I'll spin something with him," Weiss shrugged.

"It might be easier if we just don't go together," Blake returned to her book.

Weiss grumbled. In the past few months she had grown so accustom to Blake as a person that she forgot about the faunus issue. She had to think of something, for her friend.  _Friend…_  The thought surprised Weiss. Not because the thought itself was surprising, but because she wasn't that surprised by it. "Blake…"

"Weiss?"

"I want to go dress shopping with you," Weiss told her, "because you're my friend."

Blake's faunus ears perked up.  _A schnee, my friend?_  She looked up at Weiss and found herself smiling.  _No, a Schnee isn't my friend. Weiss is._

"Of course," Weiss smirked, "This means you're getting one too."

"Wait what?"

* * *

Ruby's form dripped with sweat. She had ditched her jacket and hood a long time ago, and her bare arms sheened in the light. Hit after hit landed on the punching bag, the heavy sack swaying with each strike. Right-right-left, right-right-left, until her right bicep was sore from the effort. She finally sat down to take a rest, rubbing her arm where the fracture was a few weeks ago. She was technically healed, but the bone still ached easily.

"Heya, sis!" Yang called out, announcing her entrance.

"Hello, Yang." Ruby nodded between heavy breaths. Now that she sat down, exhaustion was catching up with her.

"You okay?" Yang asked, "You're not pushing yourself too hard?"

"Pushing is how you get stronger," Ruby gave for an answer.

"But you still  _can_  push too hard," Yang reminded her.

"I'm fine Yang," Ruby scolded, "I know enough not to hurt myself training."

"Right, right," Yang nodded.

"How is the ball coming along?" Ruby asked.

"I… actually wanted to talk to you about that." Yang started, uneasily.

"What's wrong?" Ruby asked, trying to guess the answer.

"You know how CFVY signed up to run it, that I asked to take over?" Yang told her.

"Yeah?" Ruby nodded, still trying to guess the answer.

"Well… it turns out a  _team_  is supposed to run the dance." Yang told her, knowing it wasn't entirely true… but it was the only way she could think of to make this work.

Ruby glared at her before letting out a deep  _sigh…_  "Damn it, Yang."

"Look, Weiss and I will still take care of everything," Yang assured, "but there is  _one_  little thing you have to do."

Ruby thought over her options. "What is it?"

"You just have to attend the dance," Yang told her, "Can't be a planner and not show up, you know?"

The redhead groaned. Maybe there was a way out of it? "Of course you would sign the whole team up for something like this on accident."

"It won't be that bad. You might even enjoy yourself?" Yang suggested.

Yang could see her plan coming together. Ruby wasn't one to back away from a responsibility. As long as Yang managed to convince her going to the dance was one, everything would come together. And she could see it in Ruby's eyes. She was frustrated, disappointed, and a little uneasy. It all meant…

"Fine," Ruby admitted, "But I'm not wearing heels. They have no balance."

"I'll take that into account, when we go dress shopping this weekend." Yang smirked.

"Wait, what?"


	19. Chapter 19

Ruby she stared into the mirror, looking over herself wearing the outfit Yang had her buy for the Ball. The dress simple, red and knee-length. Black leggings and red flats adorned her lower half. She fought like hell against makeup, but in the end Yang got her way and dressed her face in matte red lipstick and some eyeshadow. And soon, she would be in a large crowd, dressed like this.

She was not looking forward to it.

"Ruby!" Yang's voice came from outside the dorm, "Where are you!? You're supposed to be at the ball already!"

"Uuuughh…" Ruby rubbed her head in frustration.

"Ruby! There you are!" Yang entered the dorm, "Stop messing with your hair, you'll ruin it!" The blonde rushed over and fixed her sister's mop. She smiled wide, "You look so cute."

"I don't  _want_  to look cute…" Ruby mumbled.

"That's why, though! You're always so serious! Come on," Yang held out her hand, "loosen up a little. Let's go."

"Fine," Ruby sighed. She grabbed a handbag containing a shot of her medicine, just in case, and followed Yang out the door.

The Ball itself was already in full swing by the time they got there. Weiss was greeting at the door in Yang's absence. "There you are!" The heiress spoke Ruby's way, "I was starting to think you wouldn't come."

"It's not like I had a choice…" Ruby grumbled.

"What are-"

"So, Rubes, you just gotta be seen around here!" Yang cut off, "I'm gonna talk with Weiss a bit."

"Alright…" Ruby worked her way into the crowd, avoiding the dance floor.

Once Ruby was out of earshot, Weiss turned to Yang, "What does she mean 'no choice'?"

"It was the only way I could get her to come," Yang explained.

"She thinks she's a planner?" Weiss shook her head, "I hope this works."

Ruby finally made it to the punch bowl, and was slightly disappointed there wasn't a water option.  _How are we supposed to stay hydrated?_  The redhead blinked, thinking about what she just thought.  _Maybe Yang is right… I am way too serious…_  She poured herself a cup of punch in time to be approached by someone she didn't recognize.

"Hey there, cutie." The boy slid next to her. The blue hair and goggles weren't very appealing to Ruby's eye.

"Hello," Ruby opened, not wanted to be hostile, "are you enjoying the dance?"

"I'd be enjoying at a lot more with you, cutie-pie," He smirked. Ruby nearly gagged.

"I think she's already taken," A voice behind them spoke up. Ruby turned, and her breath caught in her throat.

Blake looked stunning, in a dress that was a dark purple on the top and faded into black by the bottom. Her pale legs were uncovered, and she wore short heels that didn't look much different from her normal outfit. Her hair had been curled, and it was obvious she spent more time on her makeup that Yang did for Ruby. Her eyes had purple wings and her lipstick was black on only the top lip, with purple adorning the bottom.

The boy looked between the two of them, obviously uncomfortable with the growing situation, and took his leave. Blake watched him go with a smirk, before standing next to Ruby at the punchbowl. "I'm surprised you're here."

"I feel so exposed… I've never felt more vulnerable," Ruby raised her punch.

"So why did you come?" Blake asked.

"I didn't have much choice, remember?" Ruby rolled her eyes.

Blake raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

Ruby turned slowly to face the faunus, "What do  _you_  mean, 'what do I mean'?"

"You didn't have to come?" Blake clarified.

"But Yang said because team RWBY-" Ruby stopped her thought, finally seeing the truth. "God damn it Yang…"

"What's going on?" Blake was thoroughly confused.

Ruby grumbled, "Yang told me I had to come because RWBY was supposed to plan the dance as a team. She said she and Weiss would take care of it, but I still had to come tonight for appearances sake."

"Wow, she really wanted you to come here," Blake noted, "but why?"

"Hello, you two." Weiss walked up and greeted them.

"Hello, Weiss." Ruby nodded.

"Are you enjoying yourselves?" She asked.

Ruby didn't need anything more at that point, and sighed heavily. "That's what this is about…"

"What do you mean?" Weiss asked nervously.

"I don't know whether to be proud that you and Yang actually worked together so well, or angry about what you two were up to," Ruby scolded.

"We did manage to plan a successful dance," Weiss defended.

"Yeah, well, you should have had water here," Ruby shrugged, "This powdered punch stuff dehydrates," the redhead finally took a sip, and immediately spit it out. "Also, it's been spiked."

"Crap…" Weiss sighed, "I'll deal with the refreshments, you two enjoy yourselves. Take a dance."

The heiress left the other two alone at the table while she handled the tainted punch. Ruby had stiffened up since figuring out what Weiss and Yang's plan was all about. Blake took note, and considered her options. She knew one dance wouldn't fix all their problems, but having a nice night might be a step in the right direction. It certainly couldn't hurt, and she did miss her girlfriend.

"You know," Blake spoke up, "you didn't have to tell Weiss off like that."

"I didn't 'tell her off'," Ruby protested.

"You could have been nicer about the water," Blake pointed out, "and you could drop the super serious, leader-warrior-survivor thing and let loose for just  _one_  night."

Ruby thought things through for a moment, her posture actually softening. "And… do what?"

"Maybe… dance?" Blake suggested.

"Maybe…"

Blake smiled and held out her hand. Ruby reluctantly took it and ventured out onto the dance floor with her girlfriend. They begun spinning slowly to the soft song on the speakers.

"I've never done this…" Ruby complaining, focusing on her steps.

"Just follow my lead." Blake told her.

"You've danced before?" Ruby asked.

"Once or twice," Blake answered, "just breathe."

The two continued spinning, Ruby trying to concentrate on her dance partner. It should have been easy, Blake was so beautiful right now. But it wasn't easy. "People are looking at us…"

"No they're not," Blake assured.

Blake wasn't looking at them, though. Ruby was, and she was constantly met with watchful eyes. The redhead had never been around enough people to know if she was claustrophobic, but she was starting to know how it felt. She didn't like the attention, and she found it more and more difficult to breathe. She wasn't used to this many people. She wasn't used to this many eyes. Blake took note of Ruby's deteriorated mood, and wasn't surprised when she broke away with a mutter of, "I'm sorry."

The faunus found her girlfriend out on a balcony catching her breath. She approached slowly, knowing Ruby knew she was there. Arms slinked around the redhead's midsection, Blake's chin resting on her shoulder. "I'm sorry…"

"It's okay," Blake assured, "I know you're not used to people." They stood there for a few more moments before Blake smirked, "I think you owe me half a dance."

"You never give up," Ruby smiled.

"No, I don't," Blake spun Ruby out of her arms and resumed their slow dance, sans the music and crowd. She could tell Ruby was a lot more comfortable following the steps out here and away from others' eyes. They ended the lest few steps in the same position that they began. Despite a few minor setbacks, this had been a truly beautiful night for the pair. Until Blake's mouth moved faster than her thoughts.

"I love you," Blake confessed.

Ruby's eyes shot open, old fears passing behind them. Fears that Blake recognized. "Ruby?"

"I…" The redhead stalled.

"Ruby…?" Blake took a step back.

"I… I gotta go…" The redhead stepped back inside and vanished.

Blake sighed heavily and leaned off the balcony. She was disappointed in what had just happened… but she couldn't say she was surprised. Ruby may live close to the chest, but Blake had gotten close enough to learn a thing or two. Frustrating things. There was a lot to love about Ruby, but those frustrating things were getting harder for Blake to ignore.

"Blake?" Yang found her way to the balcony, and saw the faunus sadly leaning against the railing. "Blake?"

"Hello, Yang," Blake responded.

"Where's Ruby?" Yang asked.

"She was here. You just missed her," Blake replied.

Yang approached cautiously. "Are you okay?"

"No, I'm not." Blake answered honestly.

Yang felt uneasy after that comment. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" Blake asked.

"It was my idea to get you and Ruby here. I was hoping things would get better." Yang explained.

"It's not your fault, Yang," Blake assured, "In fact, for the most part, your plan worked."

"Really?" Yang looked up at Blake, "Then what happened?"

"We danced up here," Blake explained, "And then I asked for more."

"What do you mean?" The blonde asked.

"I said the words," Blake sighed, "and she didn't say them back."

"You mean… THE words?" Yang's gaze turned away again as she took in the information, "I don't understand…"

"You don't understand what?" Blake questioned.

"Anyone with eyes can see you're crazy for each other," Yang told her, "I'm sure she just needs a… adjustment period. It'll be okay."

"I know exactly how she feels, Yang," Blake deadpanned, "That's not what this is about."

"What?"

"She has fears," Blake explained, "Those fears have kept our relationship stagnant for months now. They're the same fears that almost kept is from getting together in the first place…"

* * *

Less Than a Year Ago

Blake was resting alone in the cave Ruby once shared with her Master. It was the closest thing the girls had to a steady home, with them always staying here when they were near Vale. Ruby was out right now hunting dinner, while Blake stayed behind and caught up on her reading. The nicest thing about the cave is that it was so out of the way the Grimm could never find the entrance, allowing Blake to focus on the words she read.

Ruby eventually returned to the cave, a knapsack full of raw meat. "Dinner time!" She announced happily.

"You have to cook it first," Blake reminded her partner.

"Yeah, yeah…" Ruby leaned over Blake's shoulder and looked over the book, "What'cha Readin'?"

"It's about a noble warrior who has fallen from grace," Blake explained, "It's sad to see them change so much, to become so brutal…"

"It tells you why they fell?" Ruby asked.

"And it makes sense…" Blake lamented, looking up at Ruby, "I actually feel sorry for the villain."

"Sometimes you do," Ruby shrugged, meeting Blake's gaze "Maybe there'll be another enemy for you to hate."

As sudden as amber eyes met silver, an energy passed between both parties. They held their stare for five seconds, five seconds that felt like an eternity. Ruby was the first to break away. Just like the last time that happened. And the time before that. And the time before that…

This energy between them had been happening more and more. Blake knew Ruby felt it, it was impossible not to. Blake wanted to finally act on it, but it was becoming clear that Ruby was avoiding it. The faunus thought about it a lot lately, thought about Ruby. She didn't know much about the girl's past, but she knew Ruby was smart, that she loved to read, and that she saw helping people as a duty. All admirable qualities, especially for someone so young.

But she didn't know how to force Ruby to talk about this. Even if she was wrong, and Ruby didn't share the feeling quickly swelling in the faunus's own chest, she would at least like to know. Because as it stood, this felt a lot more like denial rather than refusal…

* * *

A few weeks later, Blake was half-carrying Ruby back into the cave. They had just helped a Huntsmen complete a mission he had been underprepared for. In the process, Ruby took a hit meant for the man. Three long gashes from a Beowolf's claw that miraculously missed her cape, though it dug right through the rest of her leather and into her back. She hid it behind her intact cape and didn't even stumble until they were halfway back to the cave. "What were you thinking?"

"Just a scratch…" Ruby moaned, "I'll be fine…"

"It needs attention," Blake argued.

"I can handle it," Ruby insisted.

"On your own back?" Blake pointed out, "Let me help."

The redhead sighed deeply, before nodding. She stood up and dropped her hood, followed by the bolero-style jacket. Blake realized what was coming next. She couldn't work on the damage through clothing. The faunus couldn't stop herself from turning her back while Ruby disrobed.

It was something Ruby took note of. "Y'know, we're both girls, aren't we? It's nothing you haven't seen. It's just to take care of some cuts."

"It's different…" Blake muttered.

"What, never seen someone else's?" Ruby joked, "Just turn around, Blake."

The faunus did turn around, slowly. She didn't expect Ruby's vest to already be off. Her surprise took the form of staring.

"Umm… My eyes are up here?" Ruby tried to joke, but it was clear she was uncomfortable.

Blake reeled "OH MY- I am so sorry, I didn't mean to, I wasn't even looking at-"

"It's the scars," Ruby cut her off, "right?"

Blake shut up and nodded slowly. Her eyes trailed back down, not to the girl's breasts, but between them. There were two scars. The first was smaller and deeper, a thin line that was likely from whatever pierced her heart. The second was just as thin as much longer, with dots lined on wither side, making it clear this was a surgery scar.

"They're still so visible…" Blake commented.

"And they won't be my last," Ruby pointed out, "Let's treat my back now, okay?"

After Blake finished wrapping up Ruby's back, she picked up the ruined vest. "Is this still wearable?"

"It won't be the first time I've patched it up. I know how to," Ruby told her, taking the vest from her hands. They both knew it probably wasn't the best thing to wear, but Ruby didn't have much in the way of a wardrobe. Her bandages wrapped around the front of her, so she slipped the vest on but left it open.

"Thank you, Blake," Ruby looked to the faunus.

"No problem," Blake replied, matching her gaze.

It happened again. That energy between them as they stared at each other. Blake was quick to notice that they were closer than they ever had been in this moments. They came together like magnets, slowly, unable to turn away. When their lips touched, that energy exploded. They were suddenly all over each other. Arms tangled around bodies and fingers tangled in hair. It felt wonderful, until Ruby suddenly broke away, a terrified look in her eyes.

"Ruby, wait…" Blake reached out. She caught Ruby's arm as the redhead bee-lined for the cave entrance, but the young girl broke away. "Ruby! Ruby…"

* * *

Blake waited up for Ruby's return. She knew the girl wouldn't stay away forever, and kept awake. Eventually Ruby did come back, no worse for wear. The only real difference was she wouldn't look Blake in the eye.

"We have to talk," Blake told her.

"There's nothing to talk about," Ruby argued.

"Ruby," Blake persisted. She had made a decision. She was  _going_  to break through.

"There's nothing Blake," Ruby deadpanned, "Things happen."

"What do you mean, 'things happen'?" Blake was offended.

"When's the last time we spent more than a day with anyone other than each other?" Ruby pointed out, "Humans,  _people_ ," She quickly corrected, "crave connection. What happened, it doesn't mean anything. Could've happened with anybody."

"No, that's not it," Blake shook her head, "We've been feeling this for weeks, that doesn't mean nothing. I know a thing or two about foxhole romances."

"What? Who?" Ruby spun around a little too quickly.

"'Who' is not important," Blake deflected, "What's important is I know the difference between desperation and passion. And that kiss didn't feel desperate."

Ruby seemed to cringe at the word 'kiss' and turned back around.

"What are you afraid of?" Blake asked.

"Afrai- who said I was afraid?" Ruby defended quickly.

"What are you afraid of, Ruby?" Blake pressed. It was the only explanation.

"I'm not-"

"What are you afraid of!?" Blake's voice rose.

"Blake-"

"What are you afraid of, Ruby!?" Blake shouted.

"I CAN'T LOSE ANY MORE FAMILY!" Ruby finally broke.

Blake took a step back, allowing Ruby a moment to realize what she said and process her thoughts. Silver eyes darted to the cave entrance again, but Blake stepped between her and retreat. "Talk to me, Ruby."

The redhead paced back and forth for a bit before finally sitting down at the desk. Her head dropped. She wasn't getting away without saying something, and Blake wouldn't accept some crap answer.

"What happened to your family?" Blake asked.

Ruby gathered her thoughts before responding, "I loved them. For a long time, even after it was clear we were… drifting apart."

"But you don't anymore?" Blake took a step closer.

"After the Fatal Feather," Ruby gestured to her chest, "Taiyang, Yang, and I… didn't see eye to eye anymore. They didn't want me fighting. Even when I proved I could, they ignored it and told me off. They held me back, they wouldn't listen, I felt like a prisoner… not a daughter, or sister…"

"Taiyang and Yang?" Blake asked.

"My… my father and my sister. Though it's been a long time since I called them that," The young girl explained, "Family is supposed to support one another. And they stopped supporting me. I don't know when I lost them as family, but the day I realized it was the day I left."

"You ran away," Blake deduced. She knew a thing or two about running.

"I was ten years old," Ruby nodded, "And I lost my first family."

"First family?" Blake asked.

"I wandered Vale for a few days…" Ruby's voice was getting sadder, "until I ran into Christine Miizu. My teacher and Master. I was her student for almost four years. In all that time… Y'know, it wasn't until someone else pointed it out that I saw it… Master Miizu had become my family somewhere along that line…"

"Ruby…" Blake's voice softened. Tears were clearly visible on Ruby's cheek.

"I had family again…" Ruby sobbed, "And not even a week later…"

"Shh… it's okay…" Blake closed the distance between them and wrapped her arms around the young woman.

"If we do this…" Ruby cried into Blake's torso, "If this goes far and you become… I can't lose more family…"

Blake rubbed slow, comforting circles into Ruby's back. Ruby was strong, and that made it easy to forget the fact that she was still a fifteen-year-old girl. And apparently, she had lost enough people to be afraid of losing more.

"Just a few months later I found you…" Ruby continued, "I can't do it again," The redhead tried to push away.

But Blake wouldn't let her. "Ruby," she took the girl's face in her hands, "I can't lose you either."

"Blake…"

The faunus pulled Ruby in for another kiss, one the redhead readily shared.

They pulled away, and Ruby's cheeks were a little dryer. "We're really doing this…"

"I know I want it," Blake nodded, "Do you?"

Ruby was silent for a long moment before quickly nodded, "I do."

The girls embraced, accepting each other. Ruby was hoping she was wrong, and that she could actually keep Blake. Like they had already said, they couldn't lose each other now.

* * *

Present Day

Yang listened to the story intently. "So now what?"

"She sees her admitting how she feels as her accepting me as proper 'family'," Blake explained, "She's afraid that the second she does, something will happen, and she'll lose me. I need to know she can get over those fears for the sake of our relationship."

"She accepted me as family again?" Yang pointed out.

Blake looked at her with concern. "No offense, but I don't think she's as worried about losing you again as she is about losing me. Don't get me wrong, you are sisters, but… you've already fallen out once."

"Right…" Yang's head dropped, "I get you…"

The two sat in silence for a few seconds before Yang smiled, "I'm sure it'll be fine."

"How so?" Blake asked, honestly not sure what Ruby would do.

"Ruby ran because learning how to fight was important to her," Yang told her, "and me and dad… well, we weren't important anymore. We became obstacles. Probably the only thing more important to her than becoming a huntress… is you, Blake."

"I hope you're right…"

Across campus, Ruby was thinking back on the same events Blake had. Already changed into her leathers, she found a high spot in a tree and made her way up it. She needed the isolation to think.

She and Blake had grown so comfortable with each other, Ruby had genuinely forgotten this fear until now. But the prospect of saying more… it terrified her. The last time she let someone into her heart like this, they were taken away from her in just a few days.  _Not to mention it's ultimately my fault Master Miizu is gone…_

_I haven't lost Blake at any point until now,_  Ruby realized,  _how likely is it I'll lose her in just a few days, just because I said those words?_

_Why do you think you lost Master Miizu in the first place?_  The scared, fifteen-year-old-girl part of her mind answered,  _You gave up your family. Fate won't let you have another._

_They gave up on me first!_  Ruby countered,  _I can't lose Blake… especially not like this._

_You might lose her anyway. You don't know what will happen tomorrow._

Ruby didn't know what to do. There's was no way out of this she was comfortable with. Either she step out of her comfort zone and progress with Blake, or… or…

Silver eyes caught the sight of a feline faunus in a purple dress, slowly stalking the grounds. Ruby could tell by the slump of her shoulders and the dragging of her feet that Blake was crestfallen.

_I don't know what will happen tomorrow…_  Ruby realized,  _But I do know I'll lose Blake right now if I keep acting stupid. What is wrong with me…_

The young blademaster found her decision. And she had a few things to prepare…

* * *

The next day, Blake didn't see Ruby at all. The young leader never even came to the dorm to sleep. It wasn't a good sign. The only guarantee of when she would see the girl next was when they had to pick student missions tomorrow, and then she would know… for better or worse. As the day wound down, she certainly didn't expect things to go well.

The faunus settled down with her book, hoping to escape the world.

"Blake?"

_Hope shattered_. "Yes, Weiss?"

"I ran into Ruby a few minutes ago." The heiress told her.

"What? Where?" Blake slammed her book shut.

"On the grounds," Weiss answered, "She wanted you to meet her at a gazebo she found on campus. Don't ask me why, that's all she said and then she disappeared."

"Gazebo?" Blake could have sworn she saw one at some point… but where? "Thank you," Blake offered her team mate before taking off.

The sun began setting, casting an orange glow over all of Beacon. It didn't take as long as Blake thought to find the structure in question. The area seemed strangely lit, even against the sunset. And there was a sound… music in the air… a song that sounded familiar…

_Hush your cries_  
_Close your eyes_  
 _Stay with me_

Blake could hardly believe her senses… the music, the gazebo, the candles…

_Let's just dream_  
_Quietly_  
_Of what might be_

The faunus smiled as even the one black candle on the left side of the middle step was here. It was perfect. Just a little up the steps, standing in front of the music player, was a young girl in dark red leather.

_Calm your fear_  
_I'll be near_  
_To you I'll cling_

Ruby turned to face Blake, smiling at her arrival. The redhead held out her hand, and Blake smiled just as wide as she took it.

_Rest my friend_  
_Time can mend_  
_Many things_

To Blake's surprise, Ruby spun them around in a small dance, picking up where they left off form the balcony the day before. She didn't know Ruby could be this romantic…  _I suppose there's a first time for everything._

_I don't know the answers_  
_Tomorrow's still unknown_  
_But I can make this promise_  
_You won't be alone_

The song seemed to match them even better than in Blake's book.  _This moment couldn't be better…_  Blake leaned into Ruby, letting her lead the steps.

_I don't know where we should go_  
_Just feeling farther from our goals_  
_I don't know_  
_What path we will be shown_  
_But I know that when I'm with you I'm at Home_

Blake finally leaned back a little to look her girlfriend in the eye. "Ruby-"

"Blake," Ruby cut her off, reaching a hand up to her face, "I love you too."

Blake was speechless. She was wrong… the moment just got so much better. She had to find something though, as Ruby looked over her expectantly. "I… You won't lose me, Ruby. Now more than ever."

"I'll hold you to that." Ruby smiled.

The two stayed a while longer, till the song ended. Ruby gathered her scroll and joined Blake where she sat on the Gazebo steps.

"I was honestly afraid you wouldn't… Y'know…" Blake confessed.

"So was I…" Ruby nodded, "And I don't know if I'm completely over it, but… I decided that if I  _do_  lose you, it wasn't going to be because I let you go."

"Does this mean you're ready to talk about… that day? When you lost Master Miizu?" Blake asked carefully, not wanting to spoil the mood.

Ruby sighed. She anticipated this question, and she knew Blake only wanted to help. "We… we were heading to some dock town up north…"

From across the way, Yang watched the two talk. She followed Blake out of the dorm and watched the whole scene, and she was proud of her lil' sister. As fun as it would be to interrupt the two, Yang knew better than to spoil moments like these. So instead, she turned and went back to the dorm. She had enough spying for one day. Let the lovers be. She could tease them all she wanted when they went to pick up their mission tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lyrics used are from 'Home' from the RWBY Vol. 4 soundtrack


	20. Chapter 20

Weiss watched carefully the next morning. The night before, Yang had told her things had worked out between the two girls. About a half an hour later, Ruby and Blake returned, together. Both girls were oozing happiness, though Ruby's eyes betrayed that she had actually been crying recently. The heiress didn't feel it was the time to ask any questions, and let the pair be. They went to bed together.

And the next morning, they woke up together. They ran through their various routines as normal, in fact, the only difference Weiss noticed was a few extra kisses here and there. When team RWBY finally made it into the halls, she pulled Yang aside. "I thought you said they were better?"

"They are?" Yang said, confused.

"They're acting the exact same as before." Weiss clarified.

"Oh," Yang grinned, amused, "Poor, naive Weiss. It's not about what they do. It's about how they feel. Don't you feel it? Their energy together is different."

Weiss never considered the change would be deeper. With what Yang told her in her head, the heiress  _could_  feel it. Their bond was stronger. It wasn't something Ruby or Blake had to show, or even could show. They both just knew.

Team RWBY soon arrived at the auditorium, joined by the various teams that traveled from the other schools. It was time for the first years to pick their first missions. They found a spot in the crowd in time for Glynda to call for attention. Ozpin then came in from behind his second in command.

"Today we stand together, united. Mistral. Atlas. Vacuo. Vale…"

The headmaster's speech was a little long, but Ruby hung on to every word. She had come to admire Professor Ozpin. Sometimes he seemed to know more than he let on, and despite his age, Ruby was sure he could hold his own. She could only hope to be as combat ready when she reached that age.

"…As first year students, you will be tasked with shadowing a professional huntsmen or huntress on a mission. Some of you may be taken out of the kingdom for several days. Others may work within the walls for the rest of the week. But no matter which path you choose, remember to be safe, remember your training, and remember to do your very best."

"So what kind of mission are we taking?" Yang asked the group.

"I wouldn't mind getting out of the kingdom," Blake spoke up.

"I've already experienced getting lost in the forest this year. Twice," Weiss reminded them.

"Search and Destroy will be simple, and we can pick a zone less then a day from Vale," Ruby compromised on their ideas, "Besides, Weiss, a teacher will be chaperoning us. We won't get 'lost'."

"Fine…" Weiss sighed.

They found the Search and Destroy mission boards and picked one of the first missions available to them. Ruby noted that the mission start was only a few miles out from where the Mission Prep field trip was attacked. The leader turned to her team, "It says we'll meet Prof. Port on the airship docks at noon tomorrow."

"We're shadowing  _Port?_ " Yang asked incredulously, "This'll be  _great_ …"

"He may embellish his stories, but Peter Port has actually done everything he credits himself for," Blake informed her partner.

"Really?" Even Weiss was surprised.

"I wouldn't expect any of his one-liners or adoring fans, but the fact is Headmaster Ozpin trusts him to teach us, and he is a certified huntsman," Ruby pointed out.

"I guess…" Yang conceded, "I was just hoping for Professor Peach."

"We never really see her outside of class, do we?" Weiss mentioned.

"Speaking of class, if we're leaving tomorrow…?" Yang asked.

"No classes for us today," Ruby answered quickly, as if she already knew.

"Sweet. I'm going to sleep forever," Yang turned to walk back to the dorm, "Coming?"

"Actually," Blake cut in, "Ruby and I are going to head into Vale today."

"What for?" Weiss was surprised.

"Pick up supplies," Ruby said quickly. Blake nudged her in the arm and the redhead actually  _blushed_  before continuing, "and… see a movie."

"Wait!" Yang grinned mischievously, "You two are going on a date? Like, an actual  _date_?"

"Whatever you're planning, NO." Weiss cut Yang off, "let them enjoy themselves."

"Awww, but it's gunna be so  _cuute!_ " Yang cried, "Can't we spy a little?"

Ruby crossed her arms and grumbled, "This is why I didn't want to tell her…"

"'Her'?" Yang looked offended, "What about Weiss?"

"Weiss can actually behave herself, my immature sister," Ruby smirked, "Seriously, who is the older one supposed to be?"

"Ohhh, you're definitely getting a spyin' now," Yang told them.

"We've lost tails in the forest," Blake challenged, "A city, chock-full of people? I'd like to see you try."

"Somehow, I feel like that will only improve the date for you two," Weiss noted, "Am I the only normal one here?"

"You're normal?" All three of the heiress's team mates said at once.

Weiss was quiet for a moment, then sighed, "I walked right into that one…"

"We gotta get to the theater before we're late," Blake nudged her girlfriend, "See you two later."

"Sooner than you think," Yang smirked.

"I doubt it," Ruby shrugged.

The team split for their day off at that point. Ruby and Blake had a wonderful date, though the highlight of Weiss's day off was seeing Yang sluggishly walk into the dorm barely fifteen minutes after they all parted, obviously having lost her prey. "You should have known better."

"Can it."

* * *

Ruby and Blake we're still discussing the movie as the team made their way to the landing pads the next day.

"That is not how I imagined Ilo."

"It's pretty close to how the outift was described in the book?"

"I don't mean the outfit. The book explicitly states she doesn't have such large… assets. It's why she dresses that way, to lure her victims."

"I see your point. And what was with all the hate between her and Vincent?"

"Right? There should have been some subtle undertones of their true feelings."

"Especially once she entered his castle. They were close enough for the connection to start forming."

"I take it you two didn't like the movie?" Yang interrupted them.

Blake and Ruby turned back to her in surprise. "We never said that," the redhead told her.

"You've been complaining for the past half an hour," Weiss pointed out.

"It wasn't a bad  _movie_ ," Blake shrugged, "It stands on its own as a movie. I liked it as a movie. Just not as a movie  _adaptation_."

"The book was better written," Ruby clarified.

"Novels have more time to tell the story," Weiss spoke up.

"They split the movie into two parts," Ruby informed her partner, "That fact gave me  _some_  hope."

"Woah, woah,  _spoilers_ … I haven't seen that one yet," A rough voice broke them from their conversation.

Yang was the first to notice the owner of the voice, "Uncle Qrow?"

"Heya, firecracker," Qrow smiled.

"What are you doing here?" Ruby asked.

"I was in the neighborhood, thought I'd pop by," Qrow shrugged, "Heard you're starting your first mission today."

"Just some Search and Destroy," Ruby told him, "Nothing Blake and I haven't handled in the past."

"We'll see," Qrow smirked.

"What do you mean, 'we'll see'?" Yang raised an eyebrow.

"And where is Port? A teacher shouldn't be late," Weiss pointed out.

"He's not coming," Ruby told her team, "Is he, 'Professor'?"

"Professor makes me sound old," Qrow grumbled, running an uneasy hand through his graying hair, "If 'uncle' is too personal for you on-mission, just stick to Qrow."

"Wait, we're shadowing  _you_?" Yang realized.

"Me and Oz are pretty tight," Qrow explained, "I asked him if I could fill in, see how you girls handle yourselves firsthand."

"This is gunna be so cool!" Yang cheered.

"Don't get too excited," Qrow warned his blood niece, "I'm not gunna go easy on ya'."

Blake, Yang and Weiss nodded and boarded the airship. Ruby, however, hung back and spoke to Qrow alone. "What aren't you telling us?"

"What do you mean?" Qrow deflected.

"This change is  _very_  last minute," Ruby deduced, "I would have gotten a massage that our chaperone changed. Even if you and the Headmaster are 'tight', this is something else."

Qrow let the silence stretch as he planned his response. "The mission you picked…" He eventually gave in, reluctantly, "is escalating. It's still first year capable at the moment, but that can change. Quickly. The only reason team RWBY is still going is because of their ranking in the first year, and because I suggested I take Port's place. Not to talk bad about the man, he's a good huntsman. But, his field days are kinda… behind him."

"Why not tell us?" Ruby asked, "My team will be better prepared if we know this."

"I was gunna spill in the airship if no one else caught on," Qrow confessed, "I wanted one of you to ask me first. Huntsmen and huntresses should always be obser-"

"Observant of the changing mission," Ruby finished for him, "you and Master Miizu really were friends, huh?"

"And she was always the better teacher," Qrow smiled, "She almost taught at Signal instead of me, but she was too much of an introvert."

Qrow and Ruby climbed onto the airship themselves, gretting by Yang's, "What took you two?"

Ruby looked to Qrow, who gestured for her to inform her team. The redhead turned and cleared her throat, "'Huntsmen and Huntresses should always be observant of the changing mission'. That was one of the many lessons my master taught me. Its why I hung back to talk to Qrow privately."

"Changing mission?" Yang questioned, "what do you mean?"

"Our leader should have been informed of the chaperone change," Weiss realized, "Were you?"

"I was not," Ruby answered.

The three girls traded uneasy looks. "Then… what's going on?" Blake spoke first.

"The change was last minute," Ruby explained, "There wasn't time to inform me formally. I'm sure Qrow is just as new to the change as we are."

Blake looked over Qrow, noting that he looked far more capable in a fight than the portly Port. "The mission is more difficult now then when it was posted."

"Seriously?" Yang sounded nervous.

"Yes," Ruby nodded, "The mission is escalating. Headmaster Ozpin and Qrow believe we are still capable as the mission stands, but it can also escalate even more. We may not, as first years, be able to handle what we run into."

Weiss looked out the airship door, still grounded on Beacon's landing pads. "We have a choice, don't we?"

"If it was up to me, we would go," Ruby admitted, "But I won't make that decision for all of you."

There was a moment of silence as the team considered.

"I'll stand by you," Blake told her lover and leader, "always."

"There's literally no one else I'd rather get lost in the forest with," Wiess spoke up, "If you think we're up for this, I trust you."

Yang stayed silent.

"There's no pressure here, Yang," Ruby assured her sister, "If you truly don't feel up for this, tell us so, and we won't go."

"This is serious, isn't it…?" Yang spoke quietly, "A 'leave the fun and games at the door' kind of serious?"

"It was always that serious," Weiss pointed out, "Even with a normal first year mission. We may still be students, but we're heading into danger either way."

"Right, you're right…" Yang nodded slowly. "Okay."

"Okay?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah, I'm okay," Yang decided, "We can do this."

"Are you sure?" Ruby didn't want any doubt.

"Fire up the engines!" Yang shouted, planting a smile on her face.

The airship started up, and its leaving stable ground behind marked a point of no return. Ruby sat opposite of her team, next to Qrow.

"You sounded a lot like Christine, y'know," Qrow told her, "I'm sure she would be proud."

"We shouldn't be doing this," Ruby shook her head, "Yang doesn't feel ready. She just doesn't want to hold us back."

"I know," Qrow sighed, "But that's why I'm here, to keep you all safe. You've all got each other's backs, one of the closest teams to ever come through Beacon. I'll stick close to Yang, and we'll be fine."

"I hope you're right," Ruby lamented. "because I'm starting to get a bad feeling…"

* * *

_Ruby stood in an artificial fog, her vision obscured by clouds of ash. "No…" The redhead ran between the shapes of buildings she could barely make out. She found the main road, and looking down it, she saw them. Two faces she could never forget, two young girls. "Not again…" Ruby tried to run towards them, but she couldn't seem to make any progress._

" _Come on, I've got you!"_

_The familiar words rang through the world, the voice Ruby's own._

" _Run! Come on, run-… towards… me…"_

_A mass rose in the dark cloud behind the women. They turned to face it, and Ruby could only watch. The dark shape reached through the ash cloud and struck the pair. The two dissolved to ash themselves, but Ruby could hear them scream in pain._

_The young warrior collapsed to her knees. She knew she couldn't save them. But that wouldn't stop her from trying… it would never stop her from trying._

_A light pierced the ashen townscape. A golden hue that took a humanoid shape. It settled around Ruby and wrapped its arms around her. The girl felt better almost immediately. The ash cloud faded away, a sunlit forest replacing it. Ruby brought her own arms up around the figure. Only one being in all of existence could banish her nightmares like this. The figure finally stopped glowing, and silver eyes found loving amber._

Ruby's real eyes opened to find that same loving amber staring back at her, making sure she was okay. Team RWBY had finished their first day tracking Grimm in the forest. They set up camp, and Ruby and Blake decided to sleep separately. They were on the job, and wanted to be professional. Unfortunately for Ruby, a night without Blake meant a night with her nightmares.

"Are you okay?" Blake asked, determined Ruby's awareness.

"Yeah… I'm fine," Ruby nodded, "Thank you."

"You were crying," Blake explained.

Ruby felt under eyes, feeling the wet trails. "I see."

"Was it about that night? What you told me about?" Blake asked.

"I'm fi-" Ruby caught herself, remembering her promise to be more open. "Yes," She corrected, "I couldn't forget them if I wanted to… And I don't want to."

"You can still forgive yourself," Blake told her, "Forgiving yourself doesn't mean forgetting them."

"I don't know…" Ruby replied.

"Rubes all good?" Yang asked, poking her head around a tree.

"Yeah," Blake called back.

"Is Yang on watch?" Ruby asked.

"Yup."

"Me, you, Yang…" Ruby recounted the watch order for tonight. They each stayed up a few hours, adding up to the whole night. Weiss drew the lucky straw and got to stay asleep. "We're getting close to dawn."

"Yang just took over," Blake clarified, "I was still trying to sleep when I heard you call out."

"I should probably just stay up," Ruby tried to stand.

Blake only pushed her back down. "No," She commanded, "You need to sleep just like anyone else."

"I won't sleep well?" Ruby argued.

"Well, if I'm here, you should be fine, right?" Blake smiled, laying down next to Ruby.

"Blake…"

"If it's between your night's rest and being 'professional'," Blake cut her off, "I'd rather have you rested and improper."

"I know you would!" Yang called from the trees.

"WAY TO RUIN A MOMENT!" Ruby shouted, throwing the first thing she could grab.

_THUD_

" _OW!"_

"Was that your book?" Blake asked.

"Unfortunately," Ruby replied.

"Books are hard to aim with," Blake pointed out, impressed.

Before Ruby could respond, a new voice was heard from the woods just beyond Yang, "Hello?"

The three girls in the waking world turned the direction of the voice. "Who's there?" Yang asked.

A young girl, no older than them, stepped slowly into the firelight. She held Ruby's book in one of her shaking hands. Her panicked eyes passed over the girls and their weapons. "Are you… huntresses?"

"Who are you?" Ruby asked again.

"Please tell me you're huntresses," the girl replied, on the verge of tears.

"We're with Beacon," Ruby replied, standing up.

"Oh thank the gods!" The girl rushed towards Ruby and wrapped her arms around her, "It's my village, it's under attack!"

Yang and Blake started to wake Weiss and Qrow while Ruby coaxed details out of the village girl. By the time The heiress and the grayed Huntsmen were fully conscious, Ruby knew everything she had to tell. The group convened while the girl collected herself by the campfire.

"Her village is just a few more miles north," Ruby explained, "Overtaken less than an hour ago. It was fast, but there might still be people alive."

"How fast?" Qrow asked.

"Fast."

"And her?" Qrow gestured to the girl, "Listen, this might be it, girls. The 'may not be able to handle what you run into' part."

"We don't know that yet," Blake countered, "We haven't seen the town."

"We can't take the girl with us," Qrow pointed out.

"Stay with her," Ruby told Qrow, "Call Ozpin. We'll go check the town."

"Ruby-"

"It's better than leaving one of us here," Ruby argued, "We've trained to fight together as a team. And if it's too heavy, we'll avoid the Grimm and focus on keeping people safe."

Qrow looked over the team, and then his eyes panned to the village girl. "I don't like it… But fine, you have a point. Just promise me, no fighting if it's too much."

"Yessir," Ruby nodded. "Let's go, team. No time to lose."

Qrow sat next to the girl and pulled out his scroll and RWBY started to trek north. It was just over the hill that they got their first look at the town from a distance. A glow game from inside its walls and the smoke rose into the sky. The girls' faces were set to resolve, though Ruby's contained something more. A hint of doubt, and a small twinge of uncertainty. Her bad feeling from the airship had returned the minute she set eyes on the town. "Time's short," Weiss reminded the group, and they set off at a fast pace towards the village.


	21. Chapter 21

No one knew how it started. The monsters came so quickly in the night, and suddenly the town was overrun. The local guards were panicked and scattered. It was total chaos. A woman was running through the alleys, clutching her baby to her chest. She didn't know where she was going, she was just hoping to stay ahead of any Grimm. That hope was shattered when she ran right into three beowolves.

Before she could even scream, a red snowflake sigil materialized underneath the monsters. A pillar of fire exploded from the glyph, launching the three beowolves into the air. In a burst of wind and rose petals, a girl in all red leather was in front of her. Drawing three arrows with little red tubes in the arrowheads, Ruby fired them up and each arrow found its home in a different Grimm. Their burning corpses landed in front of her, slowly dissolving.

"Are you a huntress?" The mother asked, drawing Ruby's attention.

"Close enough," Ruby answered. A growl came from down the alley. Ruby pushed the mother and child down and under a nearby half-collapsed structure. They watched powerful black paws thunder past them.

"There's so many…" The mother spoke timorously.

"Why is all this so frighteningly familiar..." Ruby wondered to herself.

"Ruby!" Weiss whisper-shouted after her leader, sliding into their hiding space. "I finished sweeping my area. If there are any more survivors, they were hiding too well for me to find."

"That will have to do," Ruby conceded, "We need to sweep as much of the town as we can." Ruby turned to the mother behind her, "My team mates are trying to set up a safe zone in the Town Hall."

More thunderous black paws stormed past their hiding place. "We can't possibly destroy them all…" Weiss lamented.

"That's the second pack to run that direction in the last minute…" Ruby noted. Weiss looked on in concern. "Go find what's drawing them, it might be someone who needs help," Ruby told Weiss, "I'll get these two to the safe zone."

"Got it. Be safe."

"You as well."

* * *

"This place is surprisingly defendable," Yang noted. She and Blake were holed up with a cluster of survivors desperately trying to control their emotions.

"The guards we managed to gather certainly help," Blake responded.

"I just hope it's enough," Yang shook her head, "I don't know if we can get rid of all the Grimm. I tried calling Qrow for an update on the reinforcements, but couldn't connect."

"You won't," the faunus informed her partner, "all the ash and smoke will disrupt the signal."

"What happened to this place?" Yang wondered aloud, "It's a fairly large village. To be nearly decimated in less than an hour? Shouldn't someone had seen so many Grimm coming?"

"Maybe because it was night?" Blake theorized.

An elderly woman nearby spoke up, "It was the Grimm…"

"Yeah, but how?" Yang sighed.

"Wait, Yang." Blake held her hand up to the blonde and turned to the old woman. "What do you mean?"

"I've never seen anything like it…" the woman spoke in a strained voice, "It was very large… And very frightening…"

Blake turned back to Yang with worry in her eyes. "A large enough Grimm could break right through the town walls."

"Making a weak point for the regular Grimm…" Yang continued.

"And this happens," Blake finished.

Yang took a deep breath before voicing her next thought, "We have to go out there."

Blake gave her a confused look, before her eyes became wide. "No. No, no Yang. It's too dangerous. We promised Qrow-"

"Big or small, you and I can handle just about everything, partner," Yang cut her off with a cheesy smile.

Blake just stared at her in disbelief. "No. One, we can't, and two, we need to stay here. The guards are shaky at best. We need to be here to hold this safe zone together."

"But… but what about Ruby and Weiss?" Yang asked, "They don't know about this."

"Yang…"

The blonde placed a hand on her partners shoulder. "We both know  _I'm_  not the one holding this safe zone together. I can warn the others, Blake. I'll be fine, I promise."

Before Blake could refute again, Yang had left. She did what she could, but the worry never left her mind. She was trying to comfort a young child when a man beside suddenly stood, looking at the door. "Mary… my son…" Blake followed his gaze to the entryway, where a woman and child were being escorted in by Ruby. While the family had a heartfelt reunion, Blake and Ruby had an embrace of their own.

"Things look good in here," Ruby noted.

"I'm trying. It's all I can do to keep some of the guards from running," Blake told her.

Ruby looked around for her sister. "Where's Yang?"

"She… took off," Blake answered.

"Why?" Ruby asked uneasily.

"We found out something," Blake explained, "There's a larger Grimm here, possibly large enough to break through town walls. Yang went out to warn you and Weiss."

"That would explain things," Ruby thought for a moment, "even the volume of Grimm. A powerful enough Grimm could draw other Grimm all by itself."

"If it's been here a while, it might even explain the field trip disaster," Blake realized.

"Maybe…" Ruby crossed her arms. As she considered all possible scenarios, one more worrying thought came to mind. "Yang went to warn us.  _Just_  to warn us, right?"

"Well… a moment before it sounded like she wanted to fight it, but she told me she was going to warn you." Blake answered.

The normally calm and collected Ruby Rose started to pace after hearing this. "I don't like this… I don't like this at all…"

"Yang will be careful," Blake assured.

"Yang will  _think_  she's being careful," Ruby corrected, "But she's been lying to herself about being ready for this level of mission since the airship. I should've told Qrow to turn back…"

"Then why didn't you?" Blake asked her.

"I… I…  _sigh_ … I figured I could… pick up her slack." Ruby admitted slowly.

"Ruby…" Blake shook her head.

"I know, okay?" Ruby told her, "It was stupid and arrogant. I can mope and brood later, we're here and nothing can change that now. I have to go find Yang. I love you."

"I love you too," Blake told her. The pair shared a chaste yet loving kiss. "Even when you're an idiot," The faunus added. "Be careful."

Ruby nodded and left the safe zone, hoping to pick up some obvious trail to the blonde.

Outside Yang was working through backstreets and over rooftops, trying to avoid the Grimm horde as much as possible. It wasn't long before she spotted a shadow moving down the main street, massive and strangely shaped. "That's the big one," Yang realized. Gauging by the shadow, it was larger still than Yang expected. But she knew it had to go.

Yang jumped down to street level. The main street was surprisingly devoid of the normal Grimm types at the moment. It was just Yang, and the shape slowly emerging from the fog.

_Clack clack clack clack clack_

Yang could feel her cocksure attitude die within her. She finally got sight of the massive Grimm beast, and she realized she could never have mentally prepared for something like this. It loomed over her, not screaming or growling, simply… breathing. Yang could  _feel_  the negative energy exuding off it, the energy that drew such large Grimm hordes. The brawler felt something she never thought she would feel in the face of these monsters. Fear. A fear that froze her in place.

Ruby turned a right into an alley with a view of the main street. She saw Yang, staring at something with a frightened look. "No…" Ruby ran down the alley until she saw what Yang was staring at. Memories of that terrible day rushed to the front of the redhead's mind. The monster posed to strike, aiming right at the blonde. The attack launched, rushing to meet Yang…

* * *

A Year and a Half Before

After leaving Joanna Miizu's house, Ruby and her master decided to head to a nearby dock town. After traveling for several days, they could finally spot the town in the distance. Immediately, Christine Miizu and her pupil knew something was wrong.

"All that smoke," Ruby noted.

"And ash," Miizu's eyes narrowed, "Whatever's happening is happening now."

"Then we don't have any time to lose!" Ruby began to run ahead. Miizu sported a short smile for her protégé's eager and noble attitude and quickly followed suit.

Then she spotted something that made her stop Ruby hastily, "Wait, Ruby! Look…"

Ruby turned back to her master briefly before following her eyesight. "Oh my gods…"

The towns wall had a massive breach. It couldn't even be described as a 'hole'. And entire section of the protective barrier was crumbled and shattered.

"They're evacuating," Ruby noticed, pointing towards the small clusters of people running out of the main gate. Master and Pupil ran to the main gate to be stopped by the guards there.

"Woah, are you blind!" The first one shouted, grabbing Ruby by the arm as she bolted by. "We can't let you go in there!"

"Tyler, look at them," A second guard pointed out their gear. He turned to Miizu, "Are you huntresses?"

"Yes," Miizu nodded quickly.

"It's hard for our guys to get around and look for survivors. Any help you can give-"

"We're already on it," The teacher assured him, before turning back to her student. "Come, Ruby."

The pair ran into town, dispatching a few Grimm and keeping their senses open. One thing became very apparent, as voiced by Ruby, "This place is too big, too overrun."

"We'll need to split up," Miizu nodded, "We'll move silently alone, and can cover more ground."

"There's too many of them to fight," Ruby continued, "so we should avoid fighting."

"Very astute, my student," Miizu smiled briefly. The nodded to each other, then took off in separate directions.

It didn't take very long for Ruby to realize there weren't many people left. At least, not many people left alive… She did her best to ignore the corpses she passed. There wasn't time nor safety to get proper burials for all the bodies. She had to focus on the ones that were still alive. Like the woman currently being attacked by an Ursa.

Ruby quickly drew her bow and notched an ice arrow, firing it into the Ursa's right shoulder from behind. The bear began to turn while it's arm slowly froze solid. Ruby jumped, focusing her semblance to draw her blade as she near the Ursa in the air. She drew quickly, and shattered the growing ice with a well placed strike, removing the Grimm's arm in the process.

It swung its remaining paw at her, Ruby countering with a right-ward swing of her blade, knocking the paw back. The redhead followed with a low swing, slicing into the Ursa's knee and dropping it closer to her level. Gripping her sword with both hands, and using the strength of her semblance, Ruby jumped and swung up, severing the crouching Ursa's head clean off.

Ruby turned to the woman she just saved. "Are you okay?"

"My daughter and her friend!" The woman cried, "They went down that way! They thought they saw someone they knew!"

Ruby's eyes followed where the woman pointed. "I'll go get them," Ruby promised, "But I've got to get you out too."

"I can make it to the gate…" The woman assured, "As long as I know my little girl is coming too."

"Are you sure?" Ruby asked.

"Yes, please, go get her!"

Ruby nodded and ran off towards the woman's daughter. The ash cloud was set thick closer to the town's center. Ruby could hardly see more than a few buildings in front of her. Finally, she saw two teenagers, one supporting another with a broken leg. The one certainly looked like a younger version of the woman Ruby saved a minute ago.

"Come on!" Ruby cried out, "I've got you!" She started to run to meet them. But then she saw what they were running from. "Run! Come on, run-… towards… me…" Ruby stopped dead in her tracks. The  _thing_  that emerged from the ash cloud was like nothing Ruby had ever seen before.

Four, thick, plated, crab like claw legs slinked the beast ever forward. It had a thin, smooth torso with one long arm that ended at the elbow. There, a bone blade extended until it dragged on the ground. The right side had no arm, adorned as it was with thin spiked protrusions. Flags and tapestries with various house shields and town sigils hung off the spikes there, along with various scraps of clothing. Ruby knew they couldn't have been put there consciously by the beast, more likely they were thrown about in the creature's wake and snagged there. Still, she couldn't shake the image that they were trophies of the towns and lives this thing had destroyed…

Ruby knew what she had to do. The two girls were not that far away. She just had to boost her semblance, pull the pair away, and run like hell… but she couldn't. Ruby thought she was prepared for anything, but here was a monster she could never have imagined. Fear had frozen her in place. And the fact that she knew what she could do made it that much worse when the monster struck.

The screams were all Ruby could hear as the beast swept his blade through the two girls. The red that splattered the cobblestones were all her eyes could focus on. One thought finally broke through the fear…  _I let those girls die…_

Loud popping noises brought her out of her reverie. The beast had swung so wide its body turned nearly a full 180 degrees. Its torso was finishing that rotation in fits and starts, each abrupt movement accompanied by a pop, the sounds of bones popping in and out of place as the entire body re-arranged itself. The final movement was the elbow of its blade arm bending completely backwards. What was once on the left now hung off the right, fresh blood dripping onto the pavement as the beast strode once more.

Ruby had fallen to her knees. She didn't know what she was supposed to do here. Did she even deserve a way out of this situation? She spent four  _years_  training for moments exactly like this, and not only did she choke, her moment of fear cost two lives. The creature finished stalking up to her, raising its blade… and Ruby accepted her fate, closing her eyes…

" _RUBY!_ "

* * *

Present Day

… The attack launched, rushing to meet Yang. One thought resounded in Ruby's mind, her mantra since that dark day.  _Not again, never again…_

Ruby rushed out with her semblance to pick up Yang. Even with her semblance, she could only move so fast, and the creature's blade dug into her abdomen. Ruby lost grip of Yang, but never powered down her semblance. To the blonde, it was a sudden sensation of being thrown at high speeds. When Yang hit the ground, she saw Ruby rolling across the cobblestone next to her.

"Ruby?" Yang asked, rolling her sister into her arms to check on her, unaware of her injury thanks to the color of the leather.

"Ahh!" Ruby shouted when Yang accidentally put pressure on her fresh wound. Yang pulled her hand away quickly, and finally noticed the blood.

Now that Yang could examine the wound, she could see just how bad off her sister was. "Ruby, what did you do that for?"

Ruby's eyes passed over Yang, up to the creature behind her. She recognized the banners and clothing scraps hanging off it's spines from her memories. There were also a few new ones, marking other towns this thing had destroyed along the way. And amongst the scraps of clothing was one particular piece that caught Ruby's eye. A bloodstained, white, short sleeved jacket. "Master…"

Yang remembered the beast, and decided not to look back at it. She hooked her arms under Ruby's neck and knees, picked her up, and ran. "You'll be okay, Ruby… You're gunna be okay…"

"Master…" Ruby's eyes fluttered closed. "Those girls… I froze… they…"

"Girls?" Yang asked, "Ruby, what girls?"

"I could have saved them… They're gone…" Ruby continued muttering.

"Where? Ruby!?" Yang desperately tried to keep her sister awake.

"We can get out together… We can get you help…" Ruby seemed to slump even more. "Master…"

"Ruby!?" Yang cried, "Stay with me! Please!"

Inside the safe zone, Weiss and Blake were discussing next steps. They were interrupted by Yang bursting into the safe zone. "Is there a doctor in here!?"

"Doctor!?" Blake shouted, her eyes finding Ruby's slumped form. "What happened?"

"She saved me…" Yang told her.

Someone near the back stood up and raised her hand, "I might be able to help her."

Ruby was handed over, and unable to help, the girls stood aside and spoke.

"I think I need to go back out there," Yang told them.

"Again? No, Yang, we have most of the townspeople here," Weiss argued, "It's time to try and get them out of the village."

"But Ruby said something about some girls while I was carrying her back," Yang told her, "I think there may be more injured by where she saved me."

"This many people in one spot is sure to draw the Grimm," Weiss reminded them, "We can't always save everybody."

"What happened to her?" Blake asked.

"A Grimm. Huge, like nothing I've ever seen. Blade on one arm, crab legs…" Yang explained.

"What?" Blake's eyes widened, looking back at her girlfriend.

"She was almost unconscious, but I know what I heard. She mentioned her master, and then some girls in trouble!" Yang argued.

"I'm not so sure…" Blake shook her head, "If Ruby was injured, she might have been delirious. She might have been remembering…"

"Remembering?" Weiss turned to Blake, "Remembering what?"

"The day her master died…" Blake spoke softly, "If this creature is what you described… it might be the thing that killed Christine Miizu."

"But what if I'm right? There might be other girls in trouble!" Yang shook her head. "I'm going to look."

"No," Weiss told the blonde, "If this thing took down  _Ruby's master_ , there's no way you can fight it off."

"I won't try and fight it," Yang promised, looking at Ruby, "Not again."

"You might not have a choice if you're heading back out there," Weiss pointed out.

As Weiss and Yang continued arguing, Blake walked back over to Ruby and the medic, trying to see how Ruby was. "She's alive," The medic told her, "I can stabilize her. But she needs a real hospital."

Weiss stated their options, "We can protect this place until Qrow comes, or we can trust that to the town guards and look for these girls that might not even exist.."

"If Ruby tried to save them, then I intend to finish that work," Yang said definitively.

"As much as I hate the idea, that thing might  _need_  to go if we want to get everybody out of here," Blake pointed out.

"Qrow and his backup will be far more capable that we are," Weiss rebutted.

"If they can even get here in time," Blake argued, "You said it yourself, we have the entire town here. It won't just draw the lesser Grimm. At the very least, we can distract it… The guards can handle beowolves, but not that thing."

"And then we end up like her?" Weiss gestured to Ruby.

"Us, or the whole town, Weiss?" Yang asked slowly, "I'm going, and it sounds like Blake is too."

"I don't like this…" Weiss shook her head, "But fine. We go, together."

Before leaving, Blake leaned over Ruby and kissed her forehead. "I love you. Stay alive."

The three girls gathered themselves, discussed things with the guards, then left soon after. For Weiss, Blake and Yang, the danger ahead of them was all that was on their minds. For the guards, they tried their best to fortify the doors after the huntresses-in-trainings' exit. For the medic, they peeled off Ruby's jacket and started on the wound. And for the young leader herself, she had to battle through her memories before she could wake up.


	22. Chapter 22

Present Day

The Grimm Amalgam  _clacked_  along, slowly approaching the Town Hall. Weiss, Blake, and Yang did their best to keep the beast distracted. But after just five minutes of running and potshots, the creature began to ignore the annoyances. Blake's bullets bounced off the Amalgam's shoulder, and it didn't even flinch. It crawled, ever onward, toward the town hall.

The girls regrouped quickly, Yang speaking first, "Our strategy isn't working!"

"I just emptied an entire magazine," Blake shook her head, "It's ignoring us."

Weiss looked to the town hall, thinking, "There's too many people in the safe zone. We're keeping our distance, and they're all sitting ducks."

"There's still no sign of Qrow or his backup," Blake pointed out, "And we never even found those girls."

"We're still the only ones here who can to anything," Yang reminded them.

"Well, what?" Weiss asked.

"The only thing we can do to keep them safe…" Blake spoke softly, "We have to fight that thing."

Inside the safe zone, the impromptu medic was working on the unconscious leader, who was at the moment, exploring her memories.

* * *

A Year and a Half Before

…Ruby accepted her fate, closing her eyes.

" _RUBY!_ "

The redhead was suddenly tackled out of the way. Silver eyes shot open in time to see Master Miizu pulling her student to her feet. "Run!" The two bolted into the alleyways, running as far as they could manage. After just a few buildings passed, Master Miizu stumbled and supported herself against the wall. The teacher's hand went to her side, putting pressure on a heavily bleeding gash.

"Master…?" Ruby eyed the wound.

"It feels about as good as it looks…" Miizu replied honestly, sliding to a sitting position to rest.

"Did you get that when you saved me?" Ruby motioned to the large gash.

"No," Miizu shook her head, "I was fighting that thing earlier. I thought it would be easy..." She looked up to her frightened student, unsure what to say.

"I'm disappointed in you, Ruby." Is what she settled on.

"I'm sorry…" Ruby dropped to her knees next to her master, unable to look her in the eye.

"You should  _never_  sit down and accept your death," Miizu told her student.

"What…?" Ruby was sure Miizu would scold her about her failure… "What about those girls…? I froze and they…"

"I know…" Miizu nodded, "I saw. But laying down and letting that thing kill you does  _not_  absolve your mistake. It's just you making another."

"I could have saved them… And now they're gone because of me…" Ruby argued.

The teacher's face softened. "Do you understand why you froze?"

"I was afraid…" Ruby replied sheepishly.

"Yes and no," Miizu shook her head, "you froze because you're not  _used_  to fear. It's okay to be afraid, Ruby. In fact, I'd say it's necessary. Overconfidence will only kill you. Fighting in spite of fear is what true courage is about."

"I think I understand…" Ruby nodded slowly.

"You can't go back and save those girls," Miizu told her, "And no one is powerful enough to save everybody. What you  _can_  do is move forward. Save as many as you can, and learn to forgive yourself."

"How?" Ruby asked.

"That's not a lesson I can teach…" Miizu lamented. They heard the creature  _clacking_  down the street, ever closer to where they hid now. "You need to go."

"Not without you," Ruby argued.

"Yes, without me," Miizu deadpanned, "I'm afraid I'm not going very far."

"Don't say that, you'll be fine…" Ruby persisted.

"You need to go," Miizu repeated.

"It's not that bad…" Ruby continued.

"You need to go!" Miizu shouted.

"We can get out together! We can get you help in the next town!" Ruby tried to drown out her master's protest.

"RUBY!" Miizu screamed, demanding the girl's attention.

Ruby indeed shut her mouth and listened.

"We both know I won't make it," Miizu told her softly, "But I can make sure you get away."

"Master…"

"Never lay down and accept death…" Miizu's voice strained as she stood up, "If you're going down, go down swinging. Never stop the work."

"Where will I go? What will I do?" Ruby's voice cracked with tears, and she jumped up and grabbed onto her Master's arm. "I can't do this without you…"

"You can," Miizu rebutted, lightly pushing Ruby off her. "I believe in you."

A weight settled into the redhead's hands. Silver eyes shot down to what her Master just gave her in disbelief, an elegant blade in an all metal sheath.

"I can't take this," Ruby told her, gripping Gilded Thorn as if she was afraid to drop it.

"You are the only one who can," Miizu argued.

"It's a Passing Weapon, it belongs with your family." Ruby didn't want to accept the gift. She didn't want to accept what it meant.

"Dear student…" Miizu smiled lightly and shook her head. "Ruby, do you remember when we first met?"

Ruby was taken aback by the question. "Of course… how could I ever forget? It was one of the best days of my life…"

"When I first decided to take you on, I had a particular thought," Miizu explained, "I thought to myself 'I am going to regret this'."

"Oh…"

"I want you to know I was wrong," Miizu turned as smiled brightly at her dear student. "I don't regret a single day of the past four years. And I… am  _so_   _proud_  of you. Of who you are, and how you've grown. Don't ever stop learning. Don't ever stop growing. There's so much I won't see, and I'm sorry for that. But I know you will do just fine."

With that Christine Miizu drew her bow and made her way out to face the monstrosity. Ruby watched her go, tears streaming down her face. The redhead knew it was the last time she would ever see her Master. She gripped Gilded Thorn even tighter and raised her hood before turning to leave town.

* * *

Present Day

The good news was, the girls had managed to keep the Amalgam distracted. The bad news was, they weren't exactly winning the fight. Weiss was currently hiding behind an intact chimney staff, watching Blake get thrown like a ragdoll by a mistimed attack. The creature's bones began shifting into place, changing sides once a again, with that horrible popping sound.

"What do we do?" Weiss wondered to herself, "How do we kill it?"

"I'm not sure we can," Yang answered, appearing next to her.

"We need earpieces," Weiss lamented, dialing Blake on her scroll.

Blake found a spot to hide and answered, "What is it, Weiss?"

"Does it seem to be taking any damage at all?" The heiress asked.

"It's too big, and faster than I thought… I can't get a hit on the body," Blake answered.

"You're in charge, Weiss," Yang told the heiress, "What do we do?"

"We haven't trained for a Grimm this size…" Weiss shook her head, "What do I do? What would Ruby do?"

"Ruby would take a step back and think again," Blake told Weiss over the scroll, "Because this obviously isn't working."

 _What do we need?_  Weiss tried to think quickly,  _We can't let it get to the town hall, but a this rate it will kill us and move right on to… move…_  "Yang?"

"Yes, Weiss?"

"How do you feel about being a cannonball?"

* * *

A Year and a Half Before

On her way out of the port town gate, she was stopped again by the same guards from when she arrived. "Hey," The first one called out, "There's no way this is everybody! Get back in there and save them!"

"Tyler!" The second guard shouted. He turned to face Ruby slowly, spotting the weapon in her hands. "Where's the other one?"

Ruby was silent for a long moment. "She's gone…" She finally answered, "We should get these people out of here."

"There'll be an airship any minute," The second guard assured, "Let's go, Ty."

"What about my daughter?"

Ruby's heart dropped. It was the woman she saved, the one that sent her after the two girls.  _The girls I let die…_

"Where is she? You promised you would get her out!?"

"I'm s-sorry," Ruby's voice broke, "I'm so sorry…"

"No… No, NO!" The woman shouted in disbelief. Her sorrow very quickly turned to rage towards Ruby, balling her fists and beating on Ruby's chest. "You promised! You promised you would save her! What am I supposed to do now!? How can I go on!? She was my little girl!"

Ruby stood there and let the mother hit her. She didn't know what else to do. When the airship finally showed up, the citizens loaded on. But as Tyler the guard held out his hand, Ruby shook her head.

"Don't be stupid, where will you go?" Tyler asked.

"There's a town a few days away," Ruby explained, "They should be warned."

"We can drop you off at least?" Tyler offered.

Ruby looked in to see the mother staring daggers at her, as well as a few others Ruby didn't even know how she offended. "I don't think that's a good idea. I'll be fine on my own."

"Alright… it's your choice, we gotta buzz off."

Ruby watched the airship fly away, her vision quickly blurring. Tears began falling once again as the full weight of what happened hit her. Ruby fell to her knees, and wondered how she was supposed to push forward.

_Save as many as you can, and learn to forgive yourself_

_But how?_

"Pick yourself up, Ruby…" The redhead told herself, trying to think of what her Master would tell her. "Control your sorrow, don't bring Grimm on yourself. You can grieve later, when you're safe. Besides…" Silver eyes passed over Gilded Thorn, thinking on Joana Miizu. Today was easily the worst day of her life, but she still had one thing left to do. Her Master's sister lived in that town a few days away. The town needed to be warned about that Grimm, and Joanna deserved to know what happened.

* * *

Present Day

The Amalgam had the town hall in it's sights. It renewed its path toward the unprotected humanity, only for the animal girl to get in it's way once again. Blake stepped in the way of the beast, staring it down. "Well?" She taunted, "Is that a blade on your arm, or are you just happy to see me?" The Amalgam swung it's blade at Blake, scoring a direct hit… or so it thought. Wasn't there usually more of that red stuff? The half-human seemed to just… fade.

"Now, while he changes his joints!" Weiss turned to Yang and Blake, "Are you ready?"

"Are you sure about this?" Yang asked.

"You're the only one of us sturdy enough," Weiss reminded her.

"Ruby would have come up with a much better plan…" Yang complained.

"Well, I'm not Ruby!" Weiss deadpanned, "and we're running out of time."

_POP_

_POP_

_POP POP POP_

_POP-POP-POP-POP-POP-POP-POP_

The popping was their countdown. The Amalgam was temporarily vulnerable while it shifted, it was their only chance to disable it. Weiss cycled Myrtenaster's cylinder to gravity dust and generated a Yang-sized, vertical glyph. Blake handed one end of Gambol Shroud to the blonde, holding tightly onto the ribbon. And Yang started running, running and firing behind her, building up momentum.

It wasn't long before Blake was swinging Yang around entirely on her own. When Yang finally let go, she flew right through the gravity glyph, accelerating herself further. She shot like a bullet toward the still-shifting Amalgam. One fist pulled back, the other helping her aim for one of the legs. With all the force of her flight as well as her semblance, her fist met the carapace of one of the legs with enough force to crack it wide open.

Yang stood in the shadow of the beast, fallen on it's broken, unusable leg. The girls had stopped it from moving. Yang smiled, in disbelief that their plan actually worked. Her smiled died as the popping renewed. It was different this time, the bones weren't shifting. They appeared to be dislocating, even the sections of the spine. Yang watched in horror as the Amalgam's torso rose and loosened.

The blade, rather than stopping it's back swing like a proper arm with an elbow, swayed back and forth like a pendulum as the beast raised its arm. Then it threw it, arcing over itself and coming down on top of Yang. The blonde dived out of the way at the last second, the grimm blade cratering the ground where she once stood. Almost immediately, the blade moved again. It came right at Yang's face, missing only by inches.

The entire torso twisted a full 360 along with the blade, and this time it's aim was true. The blonde barely managed to raise her gauntlets before the blade struck and threw her into a building a block away. "Yang!" Weiss screamed. She whipped out her scroll and checked her team stats. Yang's aura was in the red, but it was there. She was alive. Weiss looked up from her screen, slightly too late to notice Ruby's full green aura begin to slowly drop.

Back in the safe zone, the medic finished stitching up Ruby's abdomen. He left her for just a moment, to grab more antibiotic. When he turned back to the table, the only thing on it was the bolero with the attached hood. The vest, and more importantly the girl, had vanished.

Ruby held one hand over her wound, the area aglow with aura. Her other hand held the unsheathed Gilded Thorn. Ahead of her was the Amalgam, immobilized, but immobilized was all she needed. It's thin torso was low to the ground and finally within striking distance. It's only advantage was that unjointed, it could move faster than ever.

But nothing was faster than her. Not if she pushed, not if she gave it her all.  _If you're going to go down, go down swinging._  And so she moved. Slowly at first, her injury slowing her down. But she built up her speed, from walking to jogging, from jogging to running. Her limit hit, and her semblance kicked in. Petals flew, and a red blur was all Weiss and Blake saw as Ruby sped by them. The young girl put all her strength and speed into her blade, and she swung.

Yang saw petals blowing in the wind in front of her as she climbed out of the rubble. In front of her lay the Amalgam in two halves, slowly fading away in a black cloud. Behind it stood Ruby, blade still held out in post-strike position. Weiss and Blake noticed Ruby as well, the latter calling out for her girlfriend.

_Drip_

_Drip_

_Drip_

A small pool of red began forming underneath Ruby, growing way too fast. Weiss looked back down to her scroll, to the team stats… and Ruby's aura was completely empty. The young leader fell to the ground, quickly crowded by her team mates. Ruby was rolled onto her back, showing her abdomen. The wound was even larger now, all rough and torn and raw.

"Ruby, you absolute idiot!" Blake shouted, "What were you thinking!?"

"That that thing needed to go?" Ruby answered wearily, "Good job crippling it, by the way."

Yang ran into the smoke of the Amalgam, grabbing the first thing that looked remotely bandage-like, a white, short sleeved jacket. She bolted right back to Ruby's side and tightly wrapped her freshened wound with the cloth. Blake and Yang lifted Ruby to her feet and began to carry her back to the safe zone. With the Amalgam gone, the town guard could easily defend the town hall. After only twenty short minutes, Qrow arrived with airships and reinforcements. Somehow, they managed to survive and save most of the townspeople. And Ruby felt as though a weight had lifted, some long-standing business finally complete.


	23. Chapter 23

A Year and a Half Before

Joanna was on her way back from a shop a few streets from where she lived. It was a peaceful day. Quiet, not much wind to speak of.  _One wouldn't expect that we may just be days away from…_  She shook the thoughts from her head. No need to dwell on such things. She turned the final corner to see into her garden, and was surprised to see her children playing with a familiar, red-dressed figured.

"Mom!" One of her children cried out, "Look who it is! Aunt Ruby showed up!"

"Yes she did!" Joanna nodded, "run along inside, you two! We have to finish packing."

"Oh yeah! We didn't tell you!" The other child spoke to Ruby, "We're moving soon! The whole block is!"

"Well, you better get moving, then!" Ruby told them, "Don't want to disappoint your mom."

"This is a pleasant surprise, 'Aunt Ruby'," Joanna smiled as the kids ran inside.

Ruby's eyes widened. "I swear, the aunt thing was  _not_  my idea."

Joanna laughed, "I know, it just means the kids like you." For the first time, she got proper look at the young redhead. She seemed tired, a little older in the eyes. Soot covered her leathers, and there was an extra weapon on her back, wrapped in cloth. She looked around to see Ruby was alone, at least at the moment… "Do you want to come in for coffee? Or tea?"

"Tea," Ruby nodded. The pair went inside, and Ruby set her gear on the counter, just like last time.

Joanna eyed the cloth-wrapped sword. She spoke with Ruby as she filled the kettle for the tea, "I haven't told the kids why we're moving yet."

"And… why are you moving?" Ruby asked, feeling she already knew the answer.

"A port town nearby was attacked," Joanna answered, "Destroyed, apparently. An airship came by and warned us a few days ago."

"I thought so," Ruby lamented.

"They said a pair of huntresses were in town," Joanna continued, "But they didn't make it onto the airships. One outright refused, apparently."

"Not everyone on the airship wanted me around them," Ruby told her.

"I thought it was you two," Joanna nodded, pouring the water and adding the tea leaves. "So… where's Christine?"

Even anticipating the question, Ruby couldn't help but tear u once again. Her vision blurred, and Joanna definitely took notice. "I'm s-sorry…"

Joanna sat down with her tea, letting Ruby regain her bearings. "I knew this would happen one day," Joanna told her, "That one of her visits would be the last…"

"It was my fault," Ruby told her, "She died saving me."

"I'm sure she doesn't regret it," Joanna told Ruby, "And I'm sure she would say it wasn't your fault."

"But she's not here to say that." Ruby deadpanned.

"I am, though," Joanna reached her hand out to take Ruby's.

They drained their cups in silence. Ruby eventually stood and fetched the cloth-wrapped sword. "There's one more reason for my visit." The redhead stepped back and unwrapped the weapon, setting it out on the table.

"Gilded Thorn," Joanna looked upon the shining sheath.

"It belongs in the Miizu family," Ruby told her, "I'm returning it."

Joanna ran a hand over the weapon, "I appreciate the sentiment, but," She looked up to Ruby, "I don't think it belongs with me."

"Who else is there?" Ruby asked, "Where should I go?"

"Tell me," Joanna picked up the blade, "Did Christine give you Gilded Thorn, or did she pass it to you?"

"Joanna, I can't-"

"Yes, you can," Joanna smiled, "You're the only one who can. It belongs to you, Ruby."

Silver eyes passed over the weapon one more time and finally, reluctantly, she took it and held it as it was hers. "Thank you…"

"Can't wait to see what you add," Joanna smiled, "Function, appearance, both?"

"I… have an idea… or two…" Ruby thought.

"Will you stay the night?" Joanna asked, "The kids'll love it."

"Would if I could," Ruby assured, "But I'm on a bit of a timetable to make it back to Vale. Not sure I have the meds."

"Well, don't be stranger,  _Aunt Ruby_ ," Joanna smirked, holding out her arms.

Ruby joined her hug, promising, "Of course. You'll see me again."

* * *

Present Day

Beacon's medical wing was not equipped to handle Ruby's level of injury. She had to undergo surgery at a hospital in Vale. The recovery was set to be months, and Ruby was not looking forward to spending all that time in a hospital bed. After just a few weeks, Ruby managed to be released so long as she used a wheelchair as to not aggravate her side. As she was leaving, she realized her vest was too destroyed to be worn anymore. Luckily, the nurses had saved the jacket that Yang grabbed to bind Ruby's wound. Master Miizu's jacket.

With her leather bottoms and her master's white jacket for a top, Ruby was ready to wheel out of the hospital. The first thing she did, however, was not to return to Beacon. Instead, she decided to follow through on an aging promise.

"Is this the address?" Blake asked, pushing Ruby along through Vale's streets.

"It's the one she gave me," Ruby nodded.

It was a modest house in a suburban area. Blake wheeled Ruby up to the door and they rang the doorbell. There was some shouting from young voices, and an older voice attempting to control them. Finally, the door opened to reveal the face of Joanna Miizu. She looked over the pair, realization dawning. "Ruby? Oh my gods, are you okay?"

"I'll be just fine in a few months," Ruby assured, "The wheelchair is temporary."

"Aunt Ruby!" The kids shouted, having fought their way to the door to see their visitor.

"Hey, guys!" Ruby smiled.

"Do you and your friend want to come inside? You're just in time, tea's all ready," Joanna offered.

"Thank you," Ruby nodded. The pair made their way to the table, the kids bombarding Ruby with questions the whole way.

"How did you get hurt!?"

"Were you fighting a monster!?"

"Did you win!?"

"Who is your friend!?"

"Yeah, what's her name!?"

"Is she from the hospital!?"

"How do you handle them…?" Blake asked.

"Practice," Joanna sighed with a smile, "Calm down, you two, please?"

"But who is she?" The younger asked.

"This is Blake," Ruby answered, "She's one of my team mates at Beacon, and also my girlfriend."

"Girlfriend?" He seemed genuinely confused, "Girls can have girlfriends?"

"Yes, if they love each other enough," Joanna nodded.

He thought for a long moment. "Does that mean boys can have boyfriends?"

"Yes, it does," Joanna giggled.

"I um… I need to call Connor…" He left, and his sister only gave a knowing smirk.

"You said Beacon?" Joanna asked Ruby, distributing tea cups.

"Yup!" Ruby nodded, "I ran into the headmaster and got in early. Pure luck, really."

"And you two met at school?" Joanna looked to Blake.

"Before," Blake answered, "Ruby saved me in the Emerald Forest. We decided to pair up to stay safe, and things evolved."

"How are you settling into Vale?" Ruby asked.

"It's not as bad as I thought, the big city," Joanna answered, "It's certainly safer than my village was. Too many people, though…"

"I know what you mean…" Ruby smiled.

"What happened?" Joanna finally asked after a moment of silent drinking.

"I… I ran into the thing the killed her," Ruby answered.

"Christine?" Joanna asked hesitantly.

"Yeah," Ruby nodded, "It's gone, Joanna. I killed it."

"So that _is_  her jacket, isn't it?" Joanna gestured to Ruby's outfit.

Ruby nodded. "I know that creature shouldn't have anything to do with how I feel about her death… but now that it's gone, I feel like… I made things right. A weight is gone, I can… I can finally move on."

"And have you?" Joanna asked.

Ruby smiled, "I think I have."

* * *

The weeks passed quickly. Team RWBY couldn't take another mission while Ruby was still recovering, and routine blurred the days.

"I can wheel myself around, you know," Ruby told Blake as the fanunus grabbed the handles on the back of Ruby's wheelchair.

"I know," Blake smirked, "But I so rarely get to push  _you_  around. Usually, it's the other way around."

"I do  _not_  push you around!" Ruby defended.

"Whatever you say, dear," Blake retorted.

Ruby crossed her arms and grumbled as Blake pushed her into the cafeteria for breakfast. They found the other two members of their team already seated at a table.

"Sup', cripple?" Yang greeted her sister.

"It wasn't funny the first time, Yang," Ruby deadpanned, "Or the second. Or the tenth. Or the-"

"Geez, sor-ry, I get it," Yang sighed, "For serious, though, are you gunna be on your feet in time for the Tournament?"

Ruby shook her head, "Even if I am, I doubt it would be a good idea for me to compete. I'm sorry."

"Awww man!" Yang groaned, "I was so looking forward to it!"

"Me as well, to be honest," Weiss spoke up, "If I'm not competing, I may have to leave early…"

"Leave?" Ruby asked.

"For the break," Weiss clarified, "I'm not leaving Beacon entirely, Dolt."

"Oh, right…" Ruby remembered, "You're going home, then."

"Where else would I go?" Weiss asked.

"Where are you goin' for break?" Yang asked the direction of Blake and Ruby.

"I'm thinking about going back to Menagerie," Blake answered, "I haven't seen my family since before… things."

"What kind of things?" Weiss asked.

"Just things," Blake answered nervously, "How about it, Ruby? Ready to meet my parents?"

"Actually…" Ruby poked at her breakfast plate nervously, "I've been thinking… and… I may go to Patch for break…"

Yang dropped her fork in her eggs, staring at Ruby. "Are you serious…?"

"Only for, like, a week or two," Ruby recovered quickly. "It depends on  _him_."

Blake placed her hand on Ruby's shoulder, "Are you sure?"

Ruby looked up at sighed, "I almost died, Blake. A near death experience, it makes a person think. I was super young when I ran away… If I didn't try this, I'm afraid I may regret never trying."

Blake smiled, "I hope it works out."

Yang reached over and pulled Ruby into a crushing hug, "Thank you."

"OW OW YANG SIDE SIDE!"

"OH MY GOD I'M SORRY ARE YOU OKAY!?" Yang jumped back.

"I think so…" Ruby groaned, lighting rubbing her injury.

"Still coming home, right?" Yang tried to lighten things back up.

"To Patch," Ruby clarified, turning to Blake. "We'll see if it's home. And even if I stay, I do promise to come see you in Menagerie."

Just then the bell for first class rang. The girls still had to deal with the rest of the school year before any of the things they discussed could happen. Still, the whole thing had Yang in particular excited, her family that much closer to being fully healed.

* * *

Beacon's airship yard was busy. The Vytal festival was in full swing and people were constantly arriving, with only a few students leaving without attending the festival. Since Weiss wasn't going to be in the tournament, her father demanded she return to Atlas for the school break. Blake wanted to see her family, and the sisters saw no reason to stay at the festival alone when they could watch the tournament from home.

The four girls stepped onto the landing pads, Ruby having left her chair a week before. They turned to eachother with sad smiles. None of them wanted to leave each other.

"I should probably say my goodbyes before heading to my ship," Weiss announced, "I don't want to hear what my father has to say about being friends with a faunus."

"You've come a long way, Weiss," Blake smiled, "I'm proud of you."

"I'll miss you guys," Weiss looked to Yang, "Maybe not you."

"Oh, please. You'll miss me the most," Yang teased.

Ruby walked up to Weiss and pulled her into a hug. "Don't let Atlas change you. You really have come a long way."

"I won't. I promise." Weiss smiled. One last wave was all she had time for before having to run to the Schnee ship and head home.

"How are you getting home?" Yang asked Blake.

"Cruise ship," Blake answered, "No airship has plans for Menagerie for at least a week. If I have to wait a week to reach home, I might as well go all out."

"Have fun!" Ruby embraced and shared a deep kiss with her girlfriend, "I'm going to miss you. I love ya, kitty."

"I love you too, little red," Blake teased, "I'm going to tell me parents about you. You better visit."

"I will," Ruby promised. Blake walked away, and for the first time in over a year, Ruby was without Blake. It felt strange, and Ruby didn't like it.

"She'll be fine. You'll see her soon enough, and before you know it, we'll be right back here." Yang assured her sister. "Hey, about dad…"

"Yeah?" Ruby looked to the ground.

"How is this going to go?" Yang asked.

"It depends on him," Ruby reminded her.

"I know, but I mean… you have to actually give him a chance you know." Yang told her.

Ruby's shoulders drooped a little. "I know. And I want to, I swear, but it's not easy."

It wasn't long before the sisters saw the ship from Patch land nearby. The doors opened, and Taiyang stepped out. "Hello, Yang."

"Hey dad!" Yang ran up and hugged her father.

Taiayng smiled and looked over to his other daughter. "Hello, Ruby…"

"Hello, Taiy-…" The redhead cleared her throat. "Hello, Dad…"

He smiled and held out his arms for a hug. Ruby awkwardly crossed her arms and stepped back. "Maybe later…"

Taiyang nodded, not wanted to press Ruby.

Yang reached out and grabbed her sister's hand, "Let's go home."


	24. Chapter 24

It was a noticeably silent airship ride to Patch. The cab took them as close as it could, then Ruby, Yang and Taiyang walked the rest of the way to the house. For the first time in nearly six years, Ruby looked upon the house she grew up in.

"It's smaller than I remember…" Ruby noted.

"You were smaller, too." Yang reminded her.

"Yeah." Ruby nodded.

"First thing I did when I heard you were coming back," Taiyang spoke up, "Was buy your room a bigger bed. Other than that, it's pretty much how you left it."

Ruby only nodded, until she was nudged in the arm by Yang. "Thank you."

For Ruby, stepping through the threshold into the house was like going back in time. Everything was pretty much the same, same couch, same tv, same coffee table, all in the same places. She stepped down the hall until she faced a door that looked like it hadn't been opened in years. Inside she found shelves full of toys, posters of bands she hadn't thought about in years, and a bed that seemed a little too big compared to the other contents of the room. It all felt very familiar.

And incredibly foreign. "I appreciate the bed, I really do," Ruby spoke to the side, sensing Taiyang behind her, "but I think I'll sleep on the couch. At least for a few days."

"I understand." Taiyang nodded.

All Ruby had for belongings was a bag of books she hadn't read yet, which she set down next to the couch, and Gilded Thorn, which she leaned against the arm. She sat down and tested the waters, so to speak. It seemed it was a newer couch, it just looked like the old one. Some things  _had_  changed while she was away. It was soft, though, and she could sleep on it.

"So…" Taiyang approached nervously, "How is this gonna work? Are we gonna talk? Or just… do something? Watch TV?"

"I… don't know…" Ruby admitted.

"How about we start with a nice dinner?" Yang suggested, "We can go to that diner Ruby used to like."

"Which diner was that?" Taiyang asked, confused.

"Sunnyside," Ruby recalled, "I used to go there some days after school, instead of coming here."

"Dinner, then?" Taiyang asked Ruby.

"That sounds fair." She nodded.

"Yeah, I could eat!" Yang stretched.

The blonde was happily falling into a mediator role. Nobody knew how to make things better, but perhaps time was all they needed. All Yang had to do was make sure Ruby kept talking to Taiyang and Taiyang didn't say anything stupid. It sounded daunting put like that, but Yang was ready.

* * *

Sunnyside was a quiet little mom-and-pop diner on the edge of Patch's main city. A year or two before Ruby left Patch, she started visiting almost everyday after school, and on the more difficult weekends. She became friends with one of the waitresses, who over time began to cover meals for her whenever Ruby forgot to bring her own money.

It was yet another reminder of how much time had passed when Ruby stepped through Sunnyside's doors. There was a board by the door with photos of servers and regular customers. Ruby used to have her own picture or two, but they were cycled out a long time ago. Many of the servers in the pictures were unfamiliar to Ruby, and there even seemed to be a different chef according to the photos. Hopefully the food was still the same.

The family sat down at one of the booths, And Ruby smiled seeing the waitress she befriended still worked there. "Hello, Clary."

"It's Clarissa," The waitress told her cheerily, not recognizing Ruby right away and assuming she read her nametag, "Clary is a young girl's name, and I'm not so young anymore."

Ruby smiled. The first time she spoke with Clarissa, that same interaction happened. And a genuinely confused, young and innocent Ruby answered, "But you  _are_  young."

When present day Ruby said the same thing, it sparked a realization in Clarissa's mind. She looked between Taiyang and Yang, who she also recognized though they were never regulars like Ruby was. Then she looked back to Ruby, understanding dawning. "Ruby? Ruby Xiao Long? Oh my god, you came back!"

"It's Rose now," Ruby corrected her, "But yes, it's me."

"It's been years. You've grown! Where have you been?" Clarissa asked.

"Away," Ruby answered, "I found someone to train me. Made it to Beacon. Almost died a few months ago, and decided to try coming back."

"Well, you can tell me all about it later. For now, milk?" Clarissa recalled Ruby's old regular order.

"Hot tea  _with_  milk, actually," Ruby told her.

"I see," Clary jotted it down, "Are you too old for strawberry pancakes with a whip cream smile?"

"You're never too old for strawberry pancakes with a whip cream smile," Ruby grinned.

"Good. That's what I like to hear," Clarissa smiled, "And for you two?"

She took the others orders and left for other booths that needed her attention. Taiyang looked over his youngest and finally thought of something to ask. "Your trainer… what were they like?"

"My master, Christine Miizu," Ruby told him, "She was amazing. And very strict, but not without reason. She taught me so much more than simply fighting. How to survive. How to navigate by stars. I don't think there was a single day in almost four years when I didn't learn  _something_."

"Where is she now?" Taiayng asked.

"She died," Ruby spoke softly, "because of my mistakes. And it took me a long time to truly move on."

"Oh, I'm sorry…" Taiayng tried to backtrack.

"It's fine," Ruby assured him, "The thing that killed her, it was the same thing from the village from our mission. It's why I pushed myself so hard. I started to see red. I had to finish it."

"Ruby…" Yang reached out for her sister's hand.

"Seeing red can be dangerous," Taiyang reminded Ruby, "for exactly the reason you almost died. You should have kept resting after the first run."

"I know that." Ruby shot. Yang flinched at the harsh return. Maybe mediating would end up being harder than she thought. Dinner ended up not much different than the ride home. What small talk there was, was just that. Small. Before long they were on their way, and things didn't feel much closer to being mended.

* * *

A few days passed, and the tension didn't seem to be letting up soon. Ruby was trying to give Taiyang a chance, but she was still on guard for the moment he said or did something wrong. After nearly sixteen years of festering resentment, Ruby found it difficult to drop her shield, even if she wanted to.

The sisters were alone on the couch. Ruby was reading, and Yang was watching television. "Maybe we can watch a movie?" Yang tried.

"We did that yesterday," Ruby reminded her.

"Right…" The blonde racked her brain for anything that could make a difference. Dinner, movies… maybe it was too impersonal? Maybe they needed to do something on their own?

Ruby watched Yang get up and head back into the hallway. The redhead shrugged things off and returned to her book. A few minutes later, Taiyang entered and approached the couch. "Hey, Rubes."

"Hello, Tai," Ruby replied without looking up from her book.

"I was just wondering , do you know how to make cookies?" Taiyang asked.

 _That's what she was up to._  "Of course. You read the package and follow the instructions."

"Package?" Taiyang sounded offended, "Instructions!? No, we're fixing that  _right_  now."

"Fixing what?" Ruby asked.

"Grab two mixing bowls, wax sheets, and a cookie sheet. I'll start pulling stuff from the fridge." Taiayng insisted, walking into the kitchen.

Ruby considered ignoring him, but saw Yang giving her a look from the hallway. With a sigh, Ruby bookmarked her novel, followed Taiyang into the kitchen, and fetched the appropriate items. The man had his arms full of stuff from the fridge. "Great, could you also grab the brown sugar and the milk? I couldn't get everything."

"Alright," Ruby grabbed the last two items. This wasn't how she expected the day to go, but if she was being honest… She loved cookies, almost more than strawberries. Almost.

"We have to prepare the flour mix separately and stir it in to the rest of the dough later," Taiyang told her, preparing a mixing bowl.

"Flour mix separate, to be stirred in later," Ruby repeated, "Got it."

Yang watched the two slowly make a mess of the kitchen with a smile on her face.

"We could use our electric mixer," Taiyang told her, "but your mother always preferred to do it by hand. She could feel exactly when it was just right, not too thick, not too thin."

"Mom…?" Ruby asked quietly.

"Yeah," Taiyang looked over to Ruby, "Where do you think you get your love of cookies? Summer always made the best. She would even make a special small batch, just for you."

"Otherwise you would eat all of  _ours_ ," Yang butted in with a smile.

"Mom…" Ruby repeated quietly to herself. As much as she was hesitant to do something like this with Taiyang, she found a new appreciation in the idea of her mother's presence. "I never really knew her," Ruby realized.

"That… is also my fault," Taiyang confessed.

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked.

"I have something to show you, when we're done here," Taiayng told her, "Something I should have shown you a long time ago. But first, eggs. One at a time, mix before you add another."

"Alright," Ruby followed his lead as they prepared the rest of the dough.

"One last thing," Taiyang opened the fridge back up after they stirred in the flour mix. He pulled out two bags, chocolate chips and sliced strawberries.

"You're putting strawberries in the cookies?" Ruby asked incredulously, "I didn't know you could do that."

"When you're making them from scratch, you can do whatever you want," Taiayng smiled, "Whether it's good or not is the question. Though, this particular question was already answered by Summer."

While the cookies were being baked in the oven, Ruby decided she needed to know more about her mother. "You never talked about mom after 'The Incident'. What was she like?"

Taiyang smiled sorrowfully. "A lot like you. Brave, a little bullheaded. But she couldn't help but see the best in people, whether they wanted her to or not."

"Sometimes I wish I could be like that," Ruby sighed, "All starry-eyed and hopeful."

"Why aren't you?"

"Because I've seen it," Ruby told him, "While training. My master and I ran into the aftermath of bandit raids and White Fang attacks. There is a lot of good in this world, don't get me wrong. But there is also a lot of bad. Some of it irredeemable."

_Ding!_

"That doesn't mean  _all_  bad is irredeemable," Taiyang spoke up.

"I hope so," Ruby replied, "but I still need to see it to believe."

"Hey, the cookies are done," Yang reminded them, breaking up the sudden tension in the kitchen. They had both stopped talking hypotheticals, and they both knew it. "Where are you taking Rubes?"

"Up the cliff," Taiyang told his eldest.

"I thought so. Could you show me where the baskets are again?" She pulled Taiyang out of the kitchen, separating him and Ruby before things could escalate.

The redhead pulled the cookies out to cool before fetching Gilded Thorn from the living room. If they were heading out at all, she didn't want to leave it behind.

"Ready to go?" She heard Taiyang ask, the man holding a picnic basket full of fresh cookies.

"Yeah," Ruby nodded, "Let's go."

* * *

"I didn't know this was here…" Ruby thought aloud.

Taiyang had taken her to a cliff overlooking the sea. Right on the edge, a little headstone marked a memorial for Summer Rose. Ruby knew there wasn't anything recovered to bury, so she never thought to ask about a grave. And this was right here, less than a mile from home all along.  _Thus kindly I scatter._

"There  _are_  Grimm in patch from time to time," Taiayng explained, "And I knew you would come here on your own if you knew it was here."

The explanation served to remind Ruby why she ran from home in the first place. She took a deep breath, trying to remind herself that the past is past. She stepped forward, and knelt in front of the headstone.

 _I hope wherever you are, if there_ is _a wherever, that you are happy. I hope you're proud of me, even though I had to leave Taiyang before. From what I've heard, you were a great mother, and you probably wouldn't have wanted the family to split like it did. But I did my best with the hand I was dealt. And if you meet Master Miizu, tell her I've forgiven myself for the past. I've finally learned her final lesson. And I miss both of you so much._

Ruby pulled a cookie out of the basket and set it on the marble. With a nod to the memorial, she tuned back to Taiyang. "Thank you, Tai."

Taiyang felt the sting of still not being called 'dad' but didn't press the issue. The pair left, walking and eating cookies in silence. It was a different kind of silence this time, one that was more respectful than tense. When they reached the house, Yang could hardly even complain about not getting a single cookie.

* * *

The next day, Taiyang passed by Ruby's room to find the door open. Inside, Ruby stood on a step ladder slowly packing boxes. All the little toys and notepads, all the posters, that had sat in that room for six years, were being stored away. It was obvious why. She wasn't the same girl anymore.

"Do you want any help?" Taiyang asked.

"I don't need help," Ruby deadpanned.

Taiyang leaned against the doorway, crossing his arms. He had something to say, and after the success of the past few days, he felt his daughter would finally listen. "What do I say Ruby? What do I do to make this better?"

"I don't know," Ruby admitted.

"Maybe because there's not one thing that will make you change your mind?" Taiyang suggested. Ruby, of course, realized he was right. "It's too late for me to make up for the past. You know that right? You came home, and I appreciate it. But there isn't any one action that will prove anything. You have to give me chance."

This was the point where she usually would dismiss him. Instead, Ruby was silent for a long moment. "It's hard," she finally confessed, "I hated you for so long."

"It's a two way street here, Ruby," Taiyang told her, "I'll always fail if you don't give me room not to."

"You mean, forgive and forget?" Ruby recalled having a similar conversation with Yang. Taiyang didn't have anything else to add and began to leave. "Hey," Ruby stopped him, "Could you hand me that box? This one is full." Taiyang stepped back in, took the box from Ruby's hand, and handed her an empty one. As he left the room, he heard, "Thanks, dad."

He smiled all night long.


	25. Chapter 25

Yang was sitting in the living room in the early morning, catching all the old cartoons. It was about a month into break at this point, and she couldn't be happier. Taiyang and Ruby were actually getting along! Their family was all back together. Ruby walked into the room, already dressed, stretching. "Good morning, Yang."

"Good morning, sister!" Yang smiled.

"Where's dad?" Ruby asked.

"He had to go to Signal," Yang explained, "There using his classroom for the make-up school. Some jerk in the make-up classes took the teacher's glasses and locked them in dad's desk. They need dad's key."

"Wouldn't the school have a copy?" Ruby asked.

"That's how the kid opened the desk in the first place," Yang nodded, "Then he swallowed it."

"Really dedicated troublemaker," Ruby replied, "Are you sure it's not you?"

"Shut up!"

"How long will he be gone?" Ruby asked.

"Pretty much all day," Yang informed her.

"Damn. I wanted to talk to him about visiting Menagerie," Ruby flopped over the back of the couch, her legs strung up and over the back, her head hanging upside-down by the floor.

"Well, maybe that means we can do something today?" Yang asked, "You've spent a lot of time with dad, and that's cool and all, but I kinda miss ya."

"What do you wanna do?" Ruby asked.

"I don't know… something more than watch TV," Yang shrugged.

" _That_  does not help me," Ruby groaned, "You know I'm not good with that stuff."

"How did you and Blake ever make it?" Yang joked.

"Hey! It's not like there are diners in the middle of the Emerald Forest," Ruby elbowed her sister's leg, "Closest we'd get was whenever I'd bag a big buck. We would feast those nights, and whatever meat we didn't finish got turned into jerky."

"You know how to make deer jerky?" Yang acted surprised.

"No, that was all Blake." Ruby's answer genuinely surprised Yang. She thought her little sister could do everything at this point.

"That's it!" Yang shouted, her mind flaring.

"What does Blake's jerky have to do with anything?" Ruby asked, confused.

"No, hunting! You could teach me how to hunt!" Yang shouted.

"What, with a rifle? I've never hunted with a rifle, but I guess it won't be too hard," Ruby shrugged.

"No, with a bow!" Yang was bouncing with excitement.

Ruby slowly corrected herself on the couch so she could look Yang in the eye. "Do you even know how to use a bow?"

"We can start there," Yang shrugged.

"Do you have a bow?"

"Umm… we can start there?"

 _Sigh…_  "Fine. Let's go, dear sister," Ruby conceded.

"Yeah!" Yang jumped off the couch and practically ran to the door. Ruby shook her head, before grabbing both of their weapons and following.

* * *

"You're too tense."

"I'm fine."

"Hold you're arm like  _this_."

"I said I'm fine!"

"Do you want to learn how to properly shoot this thing or not?"

Yang sighed in frustration. She hadn't even nocked one arrow yet, the past ten minutes being about how to hold the bow properly as well as the proper stance. "I just want to shoot something!"

"This isn't a gun, Yang. You have to be more patient," Ruby tried.

"You aren't! You shoot em' as fast as you nock 'em," Yang pointed out.

"I've also had six years of daily practical training and practice," Ruby reminded her, "This is your first day. And if you want to hit something, you need to take your time and breathe."

"Fine, fine. Sorry, I guess I'm not a good student," Yang lamented.

"If you're grades are any indication…" Ruby sported a teasing smile.

"Shut up…" her sister groaned.

"There ya go," Ruby carefully tugged and pushed at Yang's arms and legs, before straightening her back to set her stance.

"I have never seen you stand like this," Yang complained.

"Well, like you said," Ruby put Gilded Thorn's bow together and grabbed for an arrow, "You've never seen me hold my aim." She quickly nocked it, taking less than a second to settle into the exact same stance she just put her sister in.

"Show off…" Yang deadpanned.

"Now nock your arrow and look down the arrow-shaft, at the target." Ruby watched her sister try harder to follow her instructions. Yang took aim at the bullseye they painted on a nearby tree. "Now, your fingers-"  _THWANG!_

Yang let go of the drawstring and watched the arrow fly… right past the tree and deep into the woods. "What the hell! My aim was perfect!"

"I didn't tell you to shoot yet," Ruby scolded.

"You mean there's more to this!?" Yang was genuinely surprised. "Give me a gun any day…"

"Does that mean you're giving up?" Ruby asked.

"No, of course not," the stubborn blonde answered quickly, "What about my fingers?"

"You're not supposed to  _grip_  the drawstring," Ruby's own bow didn't have a drawstring, so she picked up the spare practice bow to show Yang. "You're supposed to just use the tip of your fingers, the less the better. Just your index and middle to hold the arrow between is perfect. If you need to use your ring finger for more strength, that's fine too. Your pinky should  _not_  be on the string, and your thumb should be nowhere near it."

"Okay… like this?" Yang drew her bow using the tips of her first three fingers, and carefully took her ring finger off once drawn.

"Let me say right now, do not shoot," Ruby told her, "But yes, that is fine."

"If this is fine, why can't I shoot?" Yang asked.

"One last little detail, then you can let loose," Ruby assured her, "And therein  _is_  the lesson. You never hear anybody say they 'let go' of an arrow, right? It's always 'let fly' or 'let loose'."

"Okay…"

"You're not supposed to 'let go' of the string. Jerking your fingers off like that affects the shot," Ruby told her carefully, "Instead, lessen your grip lightly and let the string slide off your fingertips. The bow will take care of the rest."

"Okay. I can shoot now?" Yang double checked.

"Yes."

Yang took a deep breath, aimed, and didn't 'let go' but let loose. The arrow flew through the air and nailed the tree. It wasn't a bullseye, but it did hit the outer ring of the red design. "Oh my god! I did it! I hit!"

"Good. Now do it again," Ruby smiled, "And maybe tomorrow, we'll try with moving targets."

"What about hunting?" Yang asked.

"You shot one arrow successfully that didn't hit the bullseye," Ruby pointed out, "You have no practice against a moving target. You are barely going to injure a still buck, and you can forget hitting a rabbit."

"Alright, miss master of the forest," Yang teased, "I'll just follow. Show me how it's done."

* * *

"Don't walk so loudly," Ruby teased her sister, "You'll scare all the game off."

"I'm supposed to watch every single step so I don't step on a dry leaf or an old twig?" Yang asked in disbelief.

"Yes," Ruby nodded.

"Wait, you're being serious?"

"Hold up," Ruby held out her hand.

"What is it? I don't see any creature," Yang looked around.

"No, but there's this," Ruby pointed at a nearby bush. She walked up to it and pulled a blueberry of a branch, tossing it to Yang.

"Great. Berries. What do we do with these?" Yang asked.

"Look here… a whole patch of missing berries," Ruby pointed out.

"Maybe somebody came by and picked them?" Yang offered perspective.

"No… People usually either take few or the whole bush. And these crushed branches? That kind of damage looks like teeth. I think something fed here."

Yang looked around, trying to expand her search to anything that could help. "Hey Rubes… does that grass over there looked trampled on?"

Ruby looked the direction Yang's eyes tracked and saw a patch of taller grass with some points suspiciously crushed. "Yes it does…" The young redhead got close to the grass, examining it intently. "Tracks… pointing away from the bush… and a little piece of blueberry… still wet. This was recent, it may even be close by."

"That's good," Yang nodded.

"Maybe… The tracks are small…" Ruby examined them closely.

"What does that mean?" Yang asked.

"You don't hunt fawn, Yang," Ruby told her, "Whether or not does are fair game is a matter of debate or circumstance, but everyone agrees you don't hunt fawn."

"Have you hunted does?" Yang asked.

"Only when I was starving." Ruby answered, "Let's follow these tracks. We might still pick up larger game. Or at least a few rabbits along the way."

"So why not hunt fawns?" Yang asked.

"Population," Ruby answered matter-of-factly, "You need to give them a chance to grow and breed, or else people hunt the species to extinction."

"Wait, so fawns are like… kid deer?" Yang asked.

"Yup," Ruby nodded, ignorant of her sister's growing unease.

A little further up, they finally spotted brown fur in the distance. The girls quickly huddled into the brush, Ruby slowly readying her bow.

"Is that the same one that snacked on the bush?" Yang asked.

"We won't know for sure, though we might find fresh blueberries in it's stomach," Ruby deadpanned. The idea of cutting open the creature's stomach almost made Yang retch. "Trouble is," Ruby continued, unaware of Yang's continuing issues, "I can't tell if it's a doe or a fawn from this far back… Either way…"

Suddenly Yang gasped. A large, majestic looking buck with  _huge_  antlers suddenly stepped into view, interacting with the smaller deer they had been following.

"Aren't you a beauty…" Ruby smiled, readying an arrow.

"Wait…" Yang stalled, "We aren't going to kill the kid… but we are going to kill the kid's dad?"

Ruby finally noticed her sister's unease at this comment. The redhead was still raring to go, all the talk of hunting from all day long got her excited for this moment. She was sure Yang didn't want to actively suggest quitting either, and would let the redhead have her fun if she still wanted it. Except it was clear to Ruby now that the concept of animal families had a familiarizing effect on the blonde. Yang was inexperienced as a big game hunter, to her a family was a family.

Ruby was disappointed she wouldn't finish the hunt, but she put the arrow back into it's quiver. "Dad's probably home by now. He'll be wondering where we are."

"Right," Yang took the out, nodding fervently, "We should get back home."

* * *

Blake waited patiently at the Menagerie docks. The island didn't have proper airport, instead hosting airships at a widened wooden boardwalk when necessary. Soon enough Blake's waiting paid off, as the airship in from Vale finally arrived. The faunus smiled and waved as she watched a familiar redhead step off the ship. The second Ruby was clear of the airship, Blake ran to embrace her. "I missed you!"

"I missed you too, kitten," Ruby smiled and returned the hug.

Blake let go reluctantly, looking over her girlfriend. Her outfit was different than before. It seems rather than try to fix her damaged vest, she completely modified it. It was little more than a collection of straps with a full leather back, worn over her master's white jacket which was tucked into the waistband of her leather bottoms. Her hooded cape was attached to the new vest, and her grey skirt was swapped out with a white one to match her new top. "You look good."

"Heya, kitten!" Yang appeared behind Blake and slung one arm over the faunus's shoulders.

Blake forced the blonde's arm off with a scowl. "Only Ruby gets away with that nickname."

"So you're the Blake I've heard so much about?" A new voice called out. Blake turned to see the man who could only be Ruby's father.

"I am," Blake nodded, "It's good to meet you, sir."

"Tai is fine," Taiyang nodded, "Anyone who can make Ruby happy is fine by me."

Blake smiled. "Thank you, Tai."

"Place seems a little… crowded." Yang pointed out.

"Well… that's what happens when someone tries to shove an entire people onto an island, where only one-third of it habitable to begin with." Blake told her.

"It's that bad here?" Ruby asked incredulously.

"The desert is almost completely inhospitable," Blake told them, "And what does live there is generally very dangerous. Menagerie has the largest collection of unique and deadly wildlife."

"Well, where do you live?" Yang asked.

"Follow me," Blake took them into the streets. Yang noticed they were getting closer and closer to the big house at the center. Every time she thought Blake was taking them down a side street, she was really just avoiding a crowd. When the reached the big house, Yang still expect Blake to take some sharp turn. The blonde certainly didn't expect to be walking up the big house's steps.

The front door was already open, with Blake's mom waiting diligently at the entryway. "Hello! My name is Kali. My husband Ghira is busy, but he'll be there for dinner. Come in, come in! I can't wait to meet you all!"

"This is your house!?" Yang couldn't keep her voice down, "Are you rich!? Are you, like,  _Weiss_  rich!?"

"We're not quite  _that_  powerful," Kali answered, "Ghira is the chieftain of Menagerie, that's all."

"That's all?" Yang couldn't keep her wonderment suppressed, looking again at Blake. "Your dad happens to be high lord baron of Menagerie, but it's no big deal?"

Kali laughed, "You must be Yang."

"I  _must_ be?" Yang shifted tones, "What have you been telling them?"

"Only the truth, Yang," Blake teased.

"Don't worry, I've heard good things," Kali assured.

"Which one?" Ruby asked, "Good things or the truth?"

"Shaddup," Yang scolded.

"Which makes you Ruby," Kali smiled, "Blake hasn't shut up about you since she got home."

"Mom!" Blake turned bright red.

"Awww, I think it's sweet," Ruby teased.

"Says the woman who could barely tie three certain words together to save the dance," Blake grumbled.

"Hey now, that's not fair," Ruby crossed her arms.

"Sorry," Blake apologized, "I just… sorry."

"It's okay," Ruby nodded, "I still love ya."

"And you must be Taiyang, Ruby's father." Kali stared down the man intently, as if trying to read him.

"Um… yeah, it's nice to meet you," Taiyang held out his hand, nervous under the woman's powerful gaze.

"Hmm…" Kali kept her thoughts to herself. She clapped her hands together and threw on a big smile, focusing her attention on Ruby. "Dinner will be ready soon! Why don't I show you to your rooms?"

"I don't think your mother likes me…" Taiyang whispered to Blake.

* * *

Dinner was an interesting affair. Even Yang felt intimidated by Ghira Belladonna's strong presence, and she wasn't there to try and be liked like her sister and father. His stature, his robes, his house, and even his jawline and facial hair, all gave him a powerful air. "So, Ruby, what do you plan to do after Beacon?"

Blake reached out and took her girlfriends hand, giving it an encouraging squeeze. "Well, being a huntress has always sort of been the endgame for me. I just want to help people. Whatever I do, all I know is I want Blake there with me."

"My daughter doesn't exist to support you. What if she needs yours?" Ghira picked apart her answer.

"Has she told you about the bow?" Ruby responded. Blake's parents noticed her ears flatten on her head.

"No, she hasn't," Kali answered.

"The bow she almost used to hide her ears at Beacon, that I made her throw out?" Ruby confidently finished.

"Blake…" Ghira sounded a little disappointed.

"I'm sorry… I just didn't want to be judged," Blake told the table.

"And as far as supporting Blake," Ruby added, "my goal may stop with being a huntress, but if her goals are grander, of course I'll help her realize them."

"You love Blake very much, don't you?" Kali asked endearingly, trying to help Ruby out.

"I do…" Ruby nodded, "It kinda scared me at first how much. I didn't have good experiences with people I loved. I left my family for years, and my Master, the woman to trained me, died protecting me. 'Better to have loved and lost', though, right?"

"You were in a relationship with your Master?" Ghira asked.

"Oh no! God no," Ruby recovered, "I loved her more like a mother. A very strict mother that taught me how to use a sword."

"And your own mother?" Kali asked with maternal concern.

"Died when I was young. I don't really remember her," Ruby stated calmly.

"She was a wonderful woman," Taiyang spoke up, "You are so much like her."

Ruby smiled at the comment. Taiyang felt Kali staring daggers at him once again but shrugged it off.

* * *

The next morning, Ruby and her family were leaving to go back home. This time Blake's parents accompanied the group to the airship, where they and their daughter watched them take off.

"I like her," Ghira smiled, putting an arm around his daughter.

"Me, too…" Kali deadpanned, "but the father… I don't like him."

"Ruby says he's been doing a lot better," Blake defended, "They're getting along great."

"Well, perhaps having two more young girls in the house for a night flared my motherly instincts," Kali admitted, "but there was something… off about that man."


	26. Chapter 26

Ruby never imagined when she started her stay with her father that she would come to enjoy being there as much as she did by the end. It was close to time to return to Beacon, and the trio spent their last week in Patch staying in, ordering food, and watching a bunch of movies together. As the redhead's eyes passed back and forth between her sister and her father, she had one single, happy thought.  _I can't believe it all worked out._

"That was a really weird spy movie," Yang pointed out.

"Well, it was no James Blonde," Taiyang agreed.

"Yeah, I know, the movie told us a thousand times," Yang responded.

"The action was really good, though," Ruby spoke up, "That bit in the church was phenomenal."

"There's a sequel," Yang pointed out.

"Plug it in!" Ruby cried.

"Alright!" Yang jumped up and started working the player.

"Hey, Rubes?" Taiyang nudged his daughter's shoulder.

"Yeah, dad?" Ruby replied.

"I'm really glad you decided to come home," Taiyang smiled.

Ruby smiled back, "Me, too."

"I was wondering," Taiyang continued, "If you were thinking about staying?"

Ruby giggled a little, "What do you mean? I'll be back next break."

"I don't mean next break. I mean I want you to stay," Taiyang explained.

Ruby's smile never technically left her face, but her eyes showed clear confusion and disbelief. "Dad, what are you talking about? Beacon starts again in a couple of days."

Yang suddenly felt very tense and whipped around. "Hey dad, I think we need more popcorn before the next movie," she tried, pulling on his arm.

"Yeah, but… I just don't think you should go back." Taiyang told her, ignoring Yang.

Yang tried pulling Ruby away next. "Hey, I think the DVD is upstairs, would you help me look?" she asked nervously.

Ruby shoved Yang's hand away, her smile gone. "Taiy-... Dad, wherever you're going with this, please... Stop. Now."

"I mean, you're enjoying yourself, right?" Taiyang asked.

"Yeah," Ruby answered, "But I'm still going back to Beacon."

"And I'm not going to try and force you to stay," Taiyang assured, "But I still want you to think about it. It's not so bad here, right?"

Ruby stared at her father. "And you think that's going to make me choose to stay here, all on my own? Abandon Beacon, my  _dream_?"

"Guys, please stop! Dad, shut up, Ruby, why don't we go for a walk?" Yang asked nervously, trying to diffuse the situation. Neither her father nor her sister were sparing any attention towards her.

"It's dangerous, Ruby," Taiyang tried in a comforting voice, "You know it is."

"Of course I do," Ruby's voice was starting to rise, "It's dangerous for everybody."

"But it's  _more_  dangerous for you," Taiyang pressed on.

"You think I don't know that?" Ruby asked incredulously, "I have it under control!"

"You almost died, Ruby!" Taiyang shouted, "Shouldn't that make you second guess things a little?"

"I did almost die," Ruby stared her father in the eyes, "but it had  _nothing_  to do with my heart. Or did you even bother to fact-check? Do you even know what really happened?"

"Guys, please..." Yang pleaded.

"Because that blow that almost killed me?" Ruby continued unimpeded, " _would_  have killed Yang if  _I_  didn't push her out of the way! But you're not going to ask her to leave Beacon, are you?"

"Yang is her own person, she's capable of making her own choices," Taiyang argued.

" _And I'm not!?_ " Ruby shouted.

"That's… that's not what I meant…" Taiyang tried to backpedal.

"Then what did you mean?" Ruby countered.

"I… I just…" Taiyang stumbled.

"Why?" Ruby demanded, "All these years, why is Yang allowed to risk her life to protect people, but I'm supposed to stay here in your little safety bubble? Despite  _proving_  that I can handle myself? What exactly are you so afraid of!?"

"I just can't stand lose you again, Summer!" Taiyang shouted before he could stop himself.

The room was dead quiet. Taiyang's face was horrified, and Yang just stared at him in disbelief. "What does that mean, dad?" the blonde asked.

"It means Qrow was right…" Ruby deadpanned. She grabbed Gilded Thorn and began to walk towards the door.

"Ruby, wait!" Taiyang tried to grab his daughter's arm.

Ruby ripped her arm out of his hand and reached for the doorknob.

"Ruby, I'm sorry!" Taiyang cried desperately, "I'm sorry, okay? I slipped up, a-and-"

"' _Slipped up_?'" Ruby finally turned back to him, her hand still on the doorknob.

"I made a mistake," Taiyang pleaded, "And I'm sorry. Please don't leave."

"What am I supposed to do here?" Ruby asked him.

"I made a mistake," Taiyang repeated, "but your stay here… it was better, right? Progress?"

"Yeah, it was," Ruby agreed, "Right until now. Then, it wasn't better enough."

"Another chance, please," Taiyang begged.

"Another chance?" Ruby almost laughed, "This was your chance. Am I supposed to forgive and forget, again? And what about the next 'slip up'? How many times am I supposed to 'forgive and forget'?"

"As many times as it takes," Taiyang told her, "I'm your father!"

Ruby's eyes were full of fury, staring down Taiyang. "You haven't been my father for sixteen years. And I refuse to stay here if all I'm going to be is a walking, talking portrait of someone else."

Ruby finally opened the door and left the house. Taiyang began to dash for the door, but was quickly stopped by Yang. "Dad, wait. I think it's better if I go after her."

"But-"

"Dad," Yang pushed him back a little, "Please."

He stumbled backward a little, his face completely crestfallen. "Bring her back, please…"

Yang said nothing as she stepped out the door herself.

* * *

_Thus kindly I scatter_

Ruby sat with her legs pulled up to her chest, staring at the marker through blurry eyes. She didn't want to blame the mother she never really knew, but she didn't know what else to think. Things had gone so wrong, so quickly, and despite the appearances of the last few months things have never been right since.

"Ruby?"

_SHINK_

In an instant, Ruby was on her feet with her weapon drawn directly at Yang. The blonde was almost surprised to see tears falling from silver eyes. "Are you here to drag me back, Xiao Long?" Ruby sobbed.

"No, I'm not," Yang held out a bag of books, "You left this behind. I figured it be awkward if you had to come back for them."

Ruby didn't step forward, keeping her blade trained on Yang.

"I'm not going to try anything, okay?" Yang promised, setting the bag down and backing away.

"I'm not going back," Ruby told her.

"I know," Yang nodded, "I just want to make sure of a few things."

"And what is that?" Ruby deadpanned.

"Don't get me wrong, okay?" Yang started, "I am pissed at dad. Unbelievably pissed."

"But he's still 'dad' to you," Ruby caught on.

"He is," Yang nodded, "And he's devastated. It's his own fault, I know. But I want to be sure that if I go back and take care of him, I'll still have a sister at Beacon."

"You really expect me to trust this?" Ruby questioned.

"I'm not dad. I'm still my own person," Yang reminded her, "I'm not going to force you to come back. I'm not even going to ask you. Just please don't make me choose between you."

Ruby's eyes narrowed, "Why not?"

"Because, right now, after what just happened, I'm afraid I'll choose you," Yang answered.

Ruby sniffled, lowering her blade slowly.

"And I'm afraid that if we both leave dad, he'll do something stupid," Yang continued. "I can live with you and dad not having a relationship. As long as i don't lose either of you. That might be selfish of me, but-"

"You always had him in a way I never did," Ruby's lament cut Yang off, with fresh tears falling down the redhead's face. "He was always your father, even when he wasn't mine. These last few months were perfect. I actually thought everything was going to be fine."  _Sniff._  "I can't trust him again. I don't have it in me."

"I know…" Yang nodded slowly.

"I hate him," Ruby scowled, tears still falling. "But I wouldn't want him to… 'do anything stupid', either. So go, take care of your father. And Yang?"

Yang's eyes perked back up a little at the use of her first name.

"I'll see you back at Beacon, sis." Ruby nodded, sheathing her blade and picking up her books.

Yang took her sister into a deep hug, a smile threatening her lips. "Thank you."

Ruby reluctantly hugged back, still on guard after all that had happened. Yang let her go, stepping back and readying herself mentally to return to the house. "Where will you stay for the next couple days until Beacon starts? Menagerie?"

"Menagerie is a little far for just a few days, I'm not even sure there's flights there," Ruby answered, "If I hurry, I can catch the last ferry into Vale. And then I'll see if Joanna will put me up for a few days. If not, you know I can take care of myself."

"She'll take you in," Yang nodded, "She seems nice and all."

"I should go. I'll miss the ferry otherwise," Ruby bid Yang farewell.

"Be safe," Yang nodded, turning around to go back to her father.

* * *

Yang stepped through the door to her home to see her father slumped on the couch with a picture in his hands. "I'm so sorry, Summer…" Taiyang bemoaned, "I tried to keep her safe…"

"Dad?" Yang called out.

He whipped around, his eyes hopeful. Only seeing Yang made his face fall, and he turned back around to stare at the picture. Yang almost started to feel sorry for him… until she saw the picture he was holding. She recognized it as a selfie she took with Ruby a few weeks ago, folded over so Yang wasn't visible. Taiyang was still staring at Ruby and thinking of Summer, even if he didn't realize it.

"Dad." Yang demanded the old man's attention.

"She didn't come back…" Taiyang lamented.

"I didn't ask her to," Yang informed him.

"Why not?" Taiyang turned back around slowly.

"Because of that," Yang pointed at the picture, "Do you even realize which of the two that photo shows? She was right, dad."

"So are you going to leave too?" Taiyang asked.

"I'm thinking about it. I really should. I'm certainly pissed enough," Yang answered.

"Then go…" Taiyang sighed, "And neither of you girls will have to worry about me again…"

The finality in his tone reminded Yang of the reason she decided to come back. "You need help, dad."

"If you're going to insult me, I'd rather you just leave," The old man deadpanned.

"It's not like that," Yang sighed, "I mean, you need to get help. Get up, I'm taking you into town."

"Excuse me?" Taiyang turned back to her in surprise.

"We're going into town," she repeated.

"Why?" Taiyang asked defiantly.

"Because if you want me to stay, if you want the  _slimmest_  hope that Ruby could come back, you need to go to a Grief Counselor," Yang gave her ultimatum. "You. Need. Help."

Taiyang took another long look at the photo, unfolding it to show Yang in it and reminding himself who the picture truly showed. With a deep sigh, he reluctantly nodded and followed his daughter out the door.

* * *

A few days later, Ruby was standing in the front courtyard of Beacon. Between greeting other students and new uninitiated, she stood waiting for Blake to show up. She called her several days ago and told her what had happened. Her mother happened to be on the line as well and asserted her confirmation of her feelings about Taiyang from their visit.

Soon enough, Blake did show up at the courtyard, dashing to her girlfriend and throwing her into a deep hug. Ruby hugged her back, burying her face into her neck and taking in her warmth.

"I'm so sorry…" Blake told her, for about the millionth time since Blake heard what had happened.

"It's not your fault," Ruby reminded her.

"I know, but still…" Blake pulled her face back to look Ruby in the eyes, but still not letting go of her, "I never lost a father… but I could still imagine what you're going through. Someone you loved turning out to be something you hate."

"Adam?" Ruby asked.

"Who's Adam?" Weiss had shown up, and seeing her teammates, made a beeline towards them.

"An ex," was all that Blake offered. She was still hesitant to inform the Schnee of her past in the White Fang.

"Ew," Weiss responded, "Well, on the other end of the spectrum, I  _never_  had a real father, not even for the first five years of my life."

"How do you…?" Blake asked.

"Yang and I talk," Weiss answered, "She thought it was better I knew ahead of seeing you again."

"That makes sense," Ruby nodded.

The next person to show up, surprising everyone, was Qrow. He strode up from the direction Weiss came from, announcing his arrival with, "I see you've already breached the topic of the day."

"Uncle Qrow?" Ruby asked, "I thought you were on a mission?"

"Missions end at some point. You'd know if you were conscious for the end of yours," Qrow quipped. "I was nearly finished when Taiyang called, asked me to bring you home. Then I called Yang and got the real story. I'm sorry."

"You warned me," Ruby reminded him.

"Yeah, but you gave him the benefit of the doubt," Qrow replied, "That's more than I ever gave him."

"Yeah, and that ended well," Ruby scowled.

"I just came by to see how you were holding up," Qrow told her, "I'd offer condolences or help, but I can see you have all that handled," He looked over her team mates, his eyes stopping on Weiss. "You're, uh… sister doesn't happen to be here right now?"

"She is, actually," Weiss remarked, "Why?"

"I should probably get out of here before she shows up," Qrow rubbed the back of his head, "She and I have never seen eye-to-eye."

"Ruby!" Yang had finally showed up, running up to her sister. She stopped short of throwing her arms around the redhead, holding out her arms as if asking for permission. Ruby reluctantly nodded and embraced the blonde brawler.

"Hey," Qrow nudged Ruby's shoulder and pointed to the person who dropped Yang off. Taiyang approached slowly and carefully.

"Hello, Ruby." Taiyang greeted nervously.

Ruby gave Taiayng a few seconds of eye contact. After that, she took Blake's hand and walked away.

Yang stayed behind to have a few last words with Taiyang and instructing him to call her regularly about his progress, before hurriedly trying to find Ruby again. She finally found Ruby, along with the rest of her team, catching up in the shade of a nearby tree. "Hey, Ruby," Yang called out, unsure of how Ruby would react after seeing Taiyang.

"Hey, Yang," Ruby replied surprisingly cheerfully, "Are you looking forward to your second year?"

Yang was stunned and didn't answer immediately. "Uhh, yeah. I mean, of course! You?"

"Last year was… rocky," Ruby admitted, "Hopefully this year will be a little smoother."

"I took dad to a grief counselor. Who told us dad's case was a little too much for him, and referred us to a… mental health doctor," Yang told the group. "He's getting help. Maybe, even, in a few years, he'll be all better and you can-"

"Don't finish that sentence," Ruby warned calmly. "I don't care."

"Oh…" Yang's face fell.

Ruby sighed heavily. "Listen, Yang. After a lot of thinking, and some discussion with Blake, I decided that last year I learned that you're not dad. And I decided that I don't want to forget that lesson. Despite what he's done, you haven't betrayed me like that yet. Reconnecting with you was one of my favorite things about the last year, and I don't want to lose you as a sister any more than you want to lose me. Even if that man means nothing to me and everything to you, it doesn't have to get in the way of our relationship."

Yang smiled widely, "Thank you."

"Before going forward," Ruby continued, "We need to make something clear. I don't care about that man. If he's getting help, that's fine, and I even applaud him. But that doesn't change what he's already done. It doesn't change that I don't have it in me to trust him again. Because I don't have it in me to be let down by him again. I can't go back to that house, and I can't live with him. No matter how many doctors he has or how many meds he's on."

"I understand…" Yang nodded. It wasn't an easy compromise, but it was worth it if it meant not losing Ruby. "So how was Joanna?"

* * *

Things started looking up for the group, and Ruby in particular. Everything wasn't made better in a nice little bow, but enough of it  _was_  better. The redhead had opened up and learned a lot of things. She finally moved on from her Master's death, and learned to forgive herself. She moved forward in her relationship with Blake, and befriended Weiss and Joanna. She even found a sister again in Yang.

As for Qrow and Taiyang, the former visited Ruby often. Ruby and Qrow both knew he was trying to make up for Ruby not having a proper father. As awkward as the dynamic was at times, Ruby welcomed any figure who cared for her on a personal level. Taiyang, on the other hand, wouldn't see or speak to Ruby for another three years.

He was still receiving treatments when team RWBY graduated, trying to honestly get better. Ruby had moved on from her hate, though it didn't change the fact that in her eyes Taiyang was never her father. They had a polite conversation, perhaps the only real and proper conversation they ever had. Taiyang could only nod as his estranged daughter walked away from him for one last time…

All in all, Ruby had finally moved on from the scars of her past. Sure some stayed with her, one in particular that still rang from her wrist to this day, but she felt those experiences truly made her stronger. Even back at the beginning of that second year, with Yang at her back, Blake by her side, and the support of all the other friends she had made, she felt ready for whatever was next.

\- The End -

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are two more completed stories and one unfinished story on FF that I'm still debating myself if I'm going to move any of them now. Mostly because all three of those stories are in series, and I'm not currently working on that story.
> 
> As part of my self-imposed rehab, I have started work on a brand new story. I don't know when the new story will be ready for me to begin uploading (I'm trying not to stress myself about getting the writing done, but I'd still like to y'know, actually write something), but if you keep an eye on my Tumblr or Instagram (where I am Vengfulfate as well) I like to use those pages for story news.
> 
> I'll also continue to work on 'Both of Them, and Only Them' whenever I have the inspiration and/or motivation for a new chapter.
> 
> If you've enjoyed my works the past few weeks, I thank you and hope you continue to do so! I'll see you all in the next tale.
> 
> \- Vengfulfate

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [The Silent Rose](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23168578) by [SilentRose](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilentRose/pseuds/SilentRose)




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